


When You Love Someone

by itschaosupthere



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Domestic, Family, Family Drama, M/M, Mpreg, Post Mpreg, Post-Break Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 17:31:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 51,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19089763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itschaosupthere/pseuds/itschaosupthere
Summary: Baekhyun only sees his son every other week since catching Chanyeol cheating on him. It's part of their separation agreement. But for the sake of Taehyung, their four-year-old, they might just do anything to get back to each other. It's just what happens when you love someone.





	When You Love Someone

**Author's Note:**

> Small Disclaimer:  
> For those who aren't fans of mpreg, before you click away I would ask that you give my story a try since that element is far from the main theme. This long one-shot is about so much more. Yes, there are mentions of mpreg but if you're just looking for a good story with sadness, comedy, and heartwarming moments then I promise I won't let you down here. 
> 
> A/N:  
> also, When You Love Someone is a song by James TW and was the catalyst for this story. It's a sad song but a good one.
> 
> This fic is also up on AFF, you can find me under the same username.

Baekhyun hated Fridays. Which of course most people snorted at because, really, who could hate Fridays? Well, Baekhyun did. More specifically, he hated alternating Fridays. Like this Friday and the Friday in two weeks and so on and so forth… This Friday he would have to pick up his son from school and drive him to his no good, dirty, rotten, cheating, lying, arsehole of a father’s house. This was the arrangement they had made. They would each have a week with their son and on Fridays they would swap. It had been like this for eight months now but Baekhyun would not stop hating Fridays.

Fridays not only meant saying goodbye to his baby for a week but it also meant seeing _him_ and seeing _him_ just hadn’t gotten any easier. One look into his eyes and Baekhyun was sent into a whirlwind of emotion, remembering everything about him and everything they had done together until the picture quickly changed into seeing his face as Baekhyun had walked in on him with someone else in _their_ bed.

He’d kept their old home as well. Baekhyun had been the one to move out, not wanting to stay there another minute longer now it was tainted with deceit and betrayal. But, of course, now every time he had to drop their son off, he had to return to the house. They had moved into that house _together_ , started a family there _together_ and all for what? For Baekhyun to be hurt in the most brutal way possible?

So… Baekhyun detested Fridays and he’d quite happily explain why to anyone who dared laugh at that.

-

The school carpark was busy like it always was at going home time but the woman in the enormous Renault Duster really didn’t need to honk her horn like she was in the middle of Seoul traffic. Baekhyun cautiously navigated around the road rage pile up and pulled into the nearest spot he could find. For the millionth time, he wished he didn’t have to drive to the school but unfortunately, he lived too far away. Another reason why moving out of his old house still stung. He got out of his hairdryer of a car and hurried down to the school playground.

Mothers were crowded like zebras at a watering hole, all chattering and guffawing. Baekhyun only knew two other parents who he spotted in a busy corner but before he could make his way over there, his legs were suddenly attacked by an unidentified four-year-old object. He looked down and grinned when he saw it was his own pride and joy, his baby Taehyung.

‘Ummaaa!’

‘Hey are you ready to go?’

‘Yes!! It’s Daddy day!’ Taehyung bounced across the playground, Baekhyun in tow who plastered a smile on his face though it probably ended up more like a grimace.

‘Yep. Let’s go see your dad.’ He sighed.

His old house was only a few streets over from Taehyung’s school, down a quiet cul-de-sac where enormous trees grew into a leafy canopy over the road. There was a longer than average driveway up to the house and a front lawn filled with greenery and flowers. It had a big garage and spacious rooms, even the attic was converted into a den. The piece de resistance was the large back garden that was beautifully wild in its foliage. Trees, bushes and grasses grew anywhere and everywhere, the wrought iron pavilion was so wrapped in vines and creepers that its structural frame had almost completely disappeared. Baekhyun had called it his just-tumbled-out-of-bed garden.

Finding that house, making an offer on it, celebrating when they got it, moving in and making it their own… it all felt like a lifetime ago. Baekhyun missed his old house so much and even though it hurt, he just couldn’t quite let go of seeing it when he could. Which was why he was now rolling up the driveway, like he did every other week and just like all those other times, he would then go in with Taehyung, make him a snack and wait until _he_ came home from work. Two hours every fortnight he got to spend in his old home. It was all he could have and all he could take without breaking down.

‘Can I have kiwi please?’ Taehyung shook Baekhyun out of his reverie and he realised he’d been staring at a fridge magnet for almost ten minutes.

‘Oh, yes, let’s see if he’s got any.’ He went over to the fruit bowl. His aunt had bought them this fruit bowl when they’d moved in. There was a lone kiwi under a couple of oranges and he plucked it out.

‘I’m going to watch TV!’ Taehyung called from the living room.

‘Alright baby.’ Baekhyun hummed back. He took his time cutting up the kiwi and placing it in a bowl, his mind was completely elsewhere. He could see a high chair on the other side of the island counter with chopped up fruit on the tray. He could see two year old Taehyung wriggling about in his seat and grabbing at pieces of banana. He could see _him_ making funny faces and grinning when Taehyung laughed. He could see _him_ … He could _see_ him… He could see-

‘Chanyeol!’

‘Hi.’

‘You’re home early.’

‘Appa!!!’ Taehyung came sprinting into the kitchen. Chanyeol lifted him up and spun him around, coming to a standstill with the young boy on his hip.

‘I finished quicker than expected so there wasn’t any need for me to stick around.’

‘Oh, ok.’ Baekhyun muttered. ‘Well I’ll see you next week.’ He made a move to grab his jacket and car keys but froze completely when he felt a hand on his arm.

‘You don’t have to rush off. Stay until five like you always do.’ Chanyeol grunted as he placed Taehyung back on his own two feet. ‘Besides I want to show you something.’

‘Erm… ok.’ Baekhyun couldn’t look at Chanyeol but he followed him anyway. He gave Taehyung his bowl of kiwi who went straight back to watching cartoons.

Chanyeol led the way outside and into the garden. They passed the salacious one-eyed gnome, the swings, the pavilion, they went all the way down to the bottom of the garden where the hill dropped down to a very gently flowing stream. It was more of a long puddle than a stream at the moment though it would fill up when the rain came.

‘Do you remember when we made a time capsule?’ Chanyeol asked. He was clambering down the slope.

‘Err yeah…?’ Baekhyun followed cautiously, refusing the extended hand to help him get down the steep decline.

‘Well I was down here the other day retrieving a Frisbee and I noticed it was in the stream rather than under the ground.’ Chanyeol stepped across the trickle of water to where the hill rose up again on the other side.

‘Oh. Well that’s odd.’ Baekhyun remained on his side of the stream with his arms folded.

‘Exactly! So I went to go and find the place we’d buried it,’ Chanyeol bent down and pointed. ‘…and I found this hole. Come and look.’

With a great amount of reluctance, Baekhyun went closer to where Chanyeol was pointing. There was indeed a hole and, curiosity getting the better of him, Baekhyun stepped over the stream and crouched down to have a proper look. At first all he saw was soil but he squinted into the dark cavern and sure enough, there was a flicker of movement. He jumped but held fast, peering deeper into the hole.

‘Is that…?’

‘Yep. Badgers.’

‘Wow.’ Baekhyun gasped. He saw another glimpse of a black and white head and then straightened back up. ‘They must have heard this is a good neighbourhood to raise a family.’ He let out half a smile while Chanyeol sniggered.

‘They’re our new neighbours.’ He remarked but the smile slid from his face when he realised he’d said ‘our’. Baekhyun retreated back up the hill. Chanyeol followed him and they silently traipsed back through the garden. ‘I reburied the time capsule.’

‘Oh. Where?’

‘That’d be telling.’ Chanyeol smirked and tapped the side of his nose. Baekhyun just stared at him blankly.

‘Daddy the phone is ringing!’ Taehyung yelled as they approached the patio doors that led into the living room. Chanyeol quickly ducked inside and picked up the telephone from the end table by the sofa.

 ‘Umma are you staying for dinner?’ Taehyung looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

‘Oh… no. I have to go soon.’ He replied, running his hand overs his biceps as if he was cold. It was a warm spring day, but an unsettling icy chill was passing through him the longer he remained in the house with Chanyeol.

‘Aww but then I won’t see you til next Friday.’ Baekhyun’s heart stuttered.

‘I know baby.’ He swallowed the lump in his throat. ‘We’ll do something special next weekend though, shall we?’

‘Yeeeah!!’ Taehyung cheered.

‘Sorry, I’m back.’ Chanyeol rushed in and returned the phone to its cradle. ‘Baekhyun, woul-’

‘I should get going.’ Baekhyun began hurrying back to the kitchen to grab his things.

‘Oh… right. Are you sure? You don’t ha-’

‘No, really. I’ve got some things I need to do.’ Car keys in hand, he made his way to the front door. Taehyung came scurrying from the sofa to hug him goodbye which Baekhyun made short work of just in case he couldn’t let go.

‘I guess I’ll see you next week.’ Chanyeol said dumbly, his brow furrowed.

‘Yeah, see you.’ Baekhyun left the house. He hastened down the stone steps and across the drive, his feet crunching on the gravel. He had just unlocked his car when-

‘Baekhyun, wait!’ He stopped in place, hearing the giant’s lumbering footsteps chasing after him. ‘Wait.’

‘Yeah?’ He asked quietly, turning around.

‘Your mum rang me the other day about the wedding. I told her that we’d agreed I wouldn’t be going but she’s insisting. I… I didn’t know what to say to her, so I just said I’d think about it, but she wants to me to ring her back tomorrow with an answer.’ Chanyeol explained, running a hand through his hair.

‘I knew she’d do this.’ Baekhyun grumbled, grinding his teeth. ‘I’ll ring her myself later and sort it out.’

‘Or…’

‘Or what?’

‘Or, maybe, I should just go.’

‘Chanyeol-’

‘Just, listen. It’s only for one day and it’d make your mum happy. Plus, I can take Taehyung to your place when he gets tired and stay there until you get back.’

‘Yeah that’s all fine, but Chanyeol… I don’t want to have to deal with all the questions. People asking if we’re back together or even just assuming that we are. My family know what’s going on but the other relatives and everyone else don’t.’ Baekhyun protested. ‘It just seems like a lot more trouble than it’s worth. If it wasn’t my own cousin getting married, I wouldn’t be going either!’

‘Baek I know there’ll be questions but surely this is a good chance to straighten things out with people. A _lot_ of people, all in one go.’ Chanyeol had his begging eyes on.

‘I… I don’t know.’ Baekhyun rubbed at his temple where he could feel a headache starting.

‘If not for anything else, do it for the suit you bought me just for this occasion.’ Chanyeol smiled and Baekhyun found himself huffing out the tension in his body with the tiniest of smirks.

‘Alright fine.’ He conceded and Chanyeol whooped. ‘I’m going now. Make sure Tae eats his vegetables.’

‘I will. See you in a week.’

Baekhyun finally got into his car and turned the key in the ignition. Chanyeol moved out of the way so he could turn around in the drive but he stayed outside and gave a little wave. Baekhyun found himself waving back with the corners of his mouth pulled up minutely. He trundled back down to the road and put on the radio to stop himself from slipping into his own thoughts. The journey to his building across town passed by quickly as he sang along to happy tunes and soon he was reversing into his parking space. He headed inside and went up the three floors in the elevator. His apartment was just as he’d left it.

-

The next day, Baekhyun woke up early like usual but quickly shoved his head back under the pillow when he realised his body had set itself to four year old hours. Saturday morning Disney channel was not in his agenda today. In fact, he was supposed to be meeting up with his friend Kyungsoo for lunch so maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that he was awake before noon. With the drowsiness gone already, Baekhyun slipped out of bed and straight into the shower.

His mind traitorously focussed on the wedding as soon as the hot water was running over his body. It was his younger cousin Sehun’s wedding which had been announced almost a year ago, back when things were different and Baekhyun had never used this shower before. Sehun was marrying the love of his life who he’d met at university. His name was Luhan and Baekhyun could honestly say that his cousin had done well for himself. Luhan was kind and beautiful and when Sehun had been a bright eyed 18 year old first year, he’d stumbled into a 22 year old Chinese Masters student. Yes. Sehun had done very well.

Three months after the engagement party, Baekhyun had dragged Chanyeol out to find an outfit for the wedding, knowing that it was better to be prepared sooner than later. Not even a week after that shopping trip, Baekhyun had gone home from work in his lunch hour to pick up some paperwork he’d left behind. He heard a noise coming from the bedroom and went to investigate, only to discover a strange woman, naked, in _his_ bed with _his_ husband.

Baekhyun hadn’t been able to speak. He’d turned sharply back around and fled out of the house with Chanyeol chasing after him yelling stupid things like ‘it’s not what it looks like’. That’s what all cheaters say and Baekhyun hadn’t wanted to listen. He drove straight back to work and carried on his day like nothing had happened. When it came time for him to go back home, he realised he couldn’t. He just… couldn’t. So he called his parents and went to them instead. His mother found some pyjamas for him in his old bedroom and in the middle of the night, held him until there were no tears left to cry.

It took a month for them to come to the arrangement they had now. A month of Chanyeol begging for Baekhyun to listen to him so he could explain but Baekhyun had refused to answer any of his calls or texts. In the first few days, his mother had been under strict instructions not to let Chanyeol in should he try and come to the family house. But then, inevitably, Baekhyun had to go back to his home because his whole life was there.

_He had been parked in the driveway for over five minutes. His hands were shaking where they loosely gripped the steering wheel. Fear was keeping him in place but in the end, the need to see his son got him to leave the car and stalk up to the house. Another wave of anxiety washed over him as he stepped through the front door. It was quiet. He went into the kitchen and gently put his car keys down on the island, looking around, somehow expecting things to have changed but of course, everything was just as it had always been._

_Then he heard a noise and headed towards it. Once in the living room, he could see through the patio windows and there in the garden was his baby with the man who’d once promised to never cause him pain. He moved closer, his eyes stinging. He couldn’t start crying now, not in front of Taehyung but every step nearer to the garden, his heart fractured a little more._

_‘Umma!!’ Taehyung dropped the football and ran as quick as lightning into Baekhyun’s waiting arms. He held his son as tight as he dared, burying his face into Taehyung’s neck and breathing in the scent that belonged only to him._

_It was the smallest of movement from Chanyeol that made him kiss Taehyung’s head and put him back down. He smiled down at him and asked if he’d go up to his room for a little while. Taehyung went after a few reassurances that everything was fine, scampering inside and up the stairs. Now they were alone._

_‘Baekhyun… please. I know you don’t believe me but I swear I didn’t sleep with her.’_

_‘You were naked in bed with her, Chanyeol.’_

_‘Yes, I know, but you have to listen-’_

_‘I just came for my things.’ Baekhyun interrupted with finality. He crossed his arms and resolutely stared at Chanyeol whose face whitened with dread._

_‘No… no, Baekhyun. Please, I-’ Chanyeol chased after him as Baekhyun turned around and went straight into the cupboard under the stairs where the suitcases were kept. He took his out and continued to ignore Chanyeol’s babbling as he went up to the bedroom._

_He couldn’t take everything. Not today. But clothes and toiletries and important things, he did need. So he packed them up, grabbing piles of clothes out of the chest of drawers and gathering hangers laden with more clothes from the wardrobe. When he went into the en suite bathroom, Chanyeol went quiet and disappeared which Baekhyun was curious about but it didn’t stop him from picking up all of his shower products, his toothbrush, his razor... everything he could see that was his. When he took it all out to the suitcase on the bed, Chanyeol was sat there with his phone._

_‘Look at this.’ He demanded and shoved his mobile into Baekhyun’s vision. Baekhyun didn’t have much of a choice but to comply with the device practically up his nose. It was a text from someone called Lee Sunyoung. **Her** , obviously._

I’m sorry about what happened, it’s my fault. I’m moving back to Gwangju in a few weeks. I’m really sorry Chanyeol.

_Baekhyun read it over twice and then looked up at Chanyeol, giving nothing away in his expression. He lightly threw the phone onto the bed and went back to crossing his arms._

_‘ **She** came on to **me**.’ _

_‘You don’t get it.’ Baekhyun muttered. He moved over to the bedside table and began picking up the things he kept there. Chanyeol grabbed his arm as he was reaching for a book. He got up off the bed, trapping Baekhyun where he was unless the latter was inclined to roll across the pillows._

_‘What don’t I get?’ He didn’t raise his voice but there was bite. Baekhyun worried his bottom lip with his teeth for a moment while he tried to calm down. His heart was ready to burst._

_‘I don’t care who came on to who. I don’t care if you didn’t actually sleep together because if I hadn’t walked in there when I did, you would have gone through with it. Wouldn’t you? And don’t fucking lie to me.’ He spat. Chanyeol hung his head and that was all the confirmation he needed. He pushed past him and tossed the things he was holding into the suitcase._

_‘Do you know how glad I am that you stopped it from happening? I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself!’_

_‘Well thank fucking god for me that I rescued you from doing something you shouldn’t have even considered doing in the first place!!’_

_‘Baekhyun.’ Chanyeol glanced at the open door. Taehyung’s room was only across the landing. ‘For the sake of our son, you can’t just leave.’_

_‘Yes I can.’ Baekhyun snapped. With nothing else from the bedroom left to pack, he zipped the suitcases shut and pulled them off the bed. Chanyeol followed him as he struggled to get them downstairs, even trying to help but one venomous look from Baekhyun and he backed off._

_‘We have to work this out and we can’t do that if you’re not here!’_

_‘No! No, we **are** going to work this out for Taehyung’s sake but I **can’t** be here. I can’t stay here another minute because I can’t even fucking look at you anymore!’_

_‘Baek-’_

_‘I don’t want to stay and have my heart broken over and over again every single time I see your face. If you even love me anymore, you’ll let me leave so I can stop being in pain all the fucking time!!’ Baekhyun knew he was crying but he disregarded the tears sliding down his face and the way his voice shook like it was about to break. Chanyeol was crying too, his eyes bloodshot._

_‘Of course I still love you.’ He whispered. ‘I never stopped.’_

_Baekhyun couldn’t watch Chanyeol fall apart otherwise he might end up staying after all and that wasn’t an option. He sniffed and picked up his things, leaving the house before he changed his mind. He shoved the cases into the boot of the car and hastily got into the driver’s seat. As the engine rumbled into life, his tears turned into uncontrollable sobs but even with blurred vision and trembling hands, he somehow managed to drive back to his parent’s house._

-

Kyungsoo was already at the café when Baekhyun arrived and he’d had the initiative to order the drinks they always chose. He smiled when he caught sight of Baekhyun coming across to the table and stood up to hug him. They sat down together and went through the preliminary updates on their lives, flicking through menus. After the waitress had come to take their order, the conversation progressed to more important matters.

 ‘Can you believe it’s only a week until the wedding?’ Kyungsoo mused.

‘I know and I still haven’t gotten them a gift.’

‘Still?!’ Kyungsoo exclaimed.

‘I’m picking something up on Wednesday, keep your knickers on.’ Baekhyun sniggered but then his grin faded. ‘Chanyeol’s coming.’

‘Really? Wow.’ Kyungsoo’s eyes went even wider than usual.

‘Entirely my mother’s fault.’ Baekhyun grumbled.

‘But you’re ok with this?’ Now that was the million dollar question.

‘I’m not happy about it but… it’s only one day and I know Taehyung will be pleased.’ Baekhyun imagined the happiness on his son’s face and smiled slightly.

‘Well I think it’s very mature of you.’ Kyungsoo praised.

Their food arrived abruptly and they dug in. The rest of their lunch date passed by with laughter and ranting about work. Kyungsoo complained about his in-laws and Baekhyun told the story of his encounter with a handsy, drunken man in the elevator at his apartment building. By the time they had paid for the food and were making their way out of the café, almost a full three hours had gone by. They said their goodbyes, acknowledging the fact that the next time they saw each other would be at the wedding, and then went their separate ways.

-

On Sunday, Baekhyun got a WhatsApp message from Chanyeol that was simply a picture of Taehyung with ice cream all over his face, feeding the ducks at a lake. He laughed when he saw it, his heart warming by the elated smile on Taehyung’s face as he tossed bread into the water. He made quite the picture with his chocolate covered face, dungarees and bright yellow wellingtons. Baekhyun didn’t reply to the message, he never usually did. Chanyeol would often send him pictures like these and sometimes Baekhyun would send a few in return. If they ever did speak to each other during the week, it was over text and only if it was something important.

Monday arrived soon enough and Baekhyun went back to work. He was a HR manager at an entertainment company in the city which meant a half hour long commute in the morning traffic but a pay check that made it worth it. He could honestly say he liked his job. He got to go to client meetings at fancy bars and restaurants, he could work from home if he needed to and being at an entertainment company met occasionally encountering celebrities. The sleepless revision nights and gruelling exams for his law degree had definitely paid off in the end.

He went straight to the elevators and to his office six stories up. His email inbox was already filling up so he dealt with that first before moving on to phone calls and sorting out the files stacked in his in-tray. It was, by all accounts, an average day at the office… that is until, on a whim, he decided to check his bank statements online.

He and Chanyeol had their own accounts and one joint account but they were able to view all of them. Last month Baekhyun had considered transferring his money out of the joint account and starting up an entirely new one with all his own money but chickened out, telling himself that it would be a lot of hassle. He went onto the full list of statements and noted that the place he’d ordered Sehun and Luhan’s wedding present from had been paid already. Woe betide they hadn’t done a good job on the gift now. But then something else caught his eye.

At the start of this month, money had been paid out to the hospital pharmacy. Baekhyun knew for a fact that neither he nor Taehyung had needed medication in the recent past. Despite knowing that it wasn’t really his business anymore, he couldn’t help but wonder what Chanyeol was taking that cost more than the standard prescription fee. To satisfy curiosity, Baekhyun went back six months on the list. Sure enough, every three months, the same amount was paid to the pharmacy. The height of confusion arose when he went back as far as he could and saw that this transaction had taken place nine months ago as well. Nine months ago… when they were still together.

As far as Baekhyun knew, Chanyeol had never needed any repeat medication. He hardly ever caught colds or got the flu, he didn’t have anything chronic or a long-term illness, the guy wasn’t even allergic to anything apart from pollen. On top of this, Baekhyun had never seen anything in the house that could potentially be what Chanyeol was taking. It just didn’t make any sense. Why would Chanyeol hide an illness from him?

‘Baekhyun?’ His office door suddenly opened and Baekhyun jumped. ‘We’re going for lunch, you coming?’ It was Jongdae, his colleague and friend.

‘Err, yeah. Yes!’ Torn away from the newfound conundrum, Baekhyun locked his computer and picked up his work bag that held his essential items. He followed Jongdae out of his office and down to the street with three other people from work. They went to their usual jaunt on the opposite side of the road where the staff now knew them by name.

Jongdae was in marketing. He was the first person Baekhyun had made friends with when he joined the company and they had stuck together ever since. He’d been the only person at work that Baekhyun had told about his marital turbulence because when it came down to it, Jongdae was one of very few people at the company that he trusted. They were in the entertainment industry after all; backstabbing and brownnosing were at its heart.

‘Baek? …Baekhyun?’

‘Huh?’

‘You were a million miles away.’ Jongdae snorted.

‘Sorry.’ Baekhyun smiled sheepishly. He picked at the food left on his plate.

‘What’s up?’

‘What kind of medication would you need to get every three months?’ He blurted.

‘I don’t know what kind of response I was expecting, but it wasn’t that.’ Jongdae replied, smirking. ‘Context?’

‘Ah it’s nothing.’ Baekhyun waved his hand aimlessly and pushed away his plate with the half eaten food on it in a mashed up mess. Jongdae shrugged at him and took a large bite out of his burger, closing his eyes in pleasure at the taste. Baekhyun loved having him as a friend – he was trustworthy, he was selfless and he didn’t ask questions.

-

Wednesday came and so, after work, it was off to a workshop just outside of town to pick up the wedding present. Baekhyun had discovered a carpenter that specialised in making bespoke garden ornaments and, because he had been at a complete loss for any other kind of present, he’d gone to the man and asked for something that he hoped Sehun and Luhan would at least mildly enjoy.

The workshop didn’t look like much from the exterior. In fact, it didn’t look like a place anyone would want to stay for any length of time. Baekhyun was convinced that the house down the lane accommodated a fair few drug deals on the daily. Nevertheless, he went in through the big barn doors and was greeted by the beast of a man who owned the place. With a chainsaw in one hand and a cigar in the other, he made an intimidating sight but Baekhyun knew from past experience that the carpenter was just a great big teddy bear.

‘Hey kiddo!’ He said, putting down the dangerous tool. ‘I’ve got your mushrooms over here.’ He gestured to a workbench. On top of it was Baekhyun’s commission – two solid oak mushrooms, the largest being 2ft high.

‘They look brilliant. Thank you!’ Baekhyun exclaimed, admiring the craftsmanship. He went forwards to try and pick one up but he was stopped in his tracks.

‘I’ll do that, you look like you weigh 90 pounds.’ The guy seized one of the mushrooms and carried it off the bench. He looked like he was struggling slightly so Baekhyun led him quickly out to his car, trepidation growing as he wondered whether his tiny Hyundai could take the weight. His eyes widened when he saw the suspension drop considerably as the mushroom was placed into the boot… and that was only one of them! God only knew how he was going to get them back out of his car.

After the carpenter had retrieved the other mushroom and Baekhyun laughed nervously at a joke about how the car was going to tackle steep hills, he got in and started up the engine. The kind man waved him off and he pulled out of the dirt track to be on his way. Sure enough, the accelerator was abused on his journey home to compensate the weight but at least he didn’t break down. One thing was for sure – he was going to need Superman or someone to help get the bloody things out of his boot and into Sehun’s garden. Solid oak mushrooms… what was he thinking?!

When Baekhyun got home it was almost half past six so he went straight to the kitchen. Pulling out a few containers of side dishes he’d made at the weekend, he started preparing dinner for himself. As he went past the calendar hung on the wall, he realised there were only two more days until he could see Taehyung again and he smiled. When they parted, it felt like forever until they would see each other again but, without fail, the week always passed by quicker than expected. Baekhyun could vividly remember the first time he’d had to drop Taehyung off at the house…

_‘It’s only a week, Tae. Not that long at all really.’_

_‘But why, Umma?’ Taehyung was not to blame for his curiosity. Baekhyun was honestly surprised how well he was adjusting and he couldn’t be more grateful. He just wished he didn’t have to keep explaining what was going on._

_‘Your Daddy and I are just working out some things so that’s why I live in the new apartment.’ He said, hoping that was enough. They were parked on the driveway now._

_‘Ok.’ Taehyung replied in a very small voice. He was fiddling with his coat, refusing to look up at Baekhyun._

_‘It’s… it’s not going to be forever.’ Baekhyun tried, feeling tears prick at the back of his eyes. Taehyung nodded. They got out of the car._

_As they approached the door, Baekhyun suddenly felt unsure of himself and couldn’t just unlock the door to let them in. He rang the doorbell, feeling stupid. The locks hadn’t been changed, of course, but despite it being of his own will that he left this house, Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel like now he was an intruder. He waited with baited breath for the door to be opened from the inside, coming to the conclusion that it was for the best that he disassociate himself from his former home._

_‘Baekhyun.’ Chanyeol gasped somewhat when he opened the door, as if he hadn’t known that Baekhyun was going to be there._

_‘Appa!!’ Taehyung ran in and clamped himself around Chanyeol’s legs._

_‘Are you coming in?’_

_Baekhyun’s brain went on hiatus at the question for he was in the midst of studying Chanyeol’s appearance. They hadn’t seen each other since Baekhyun had collected the last of his things two weeks ago. Since then, Chanyeol looked like he’d come down with an abominable cold. He was pale and gaunt, definitely having lost a bit of weight. His eyes were bloodshot and his general physique looked like it was trying to fold in on itself. Baekhyun knew that they were going through a rough time but for Chanyeol it seemed like World War III as opposed to a break up._

_‘Baek?’_

_‘What? Oh! Um, I… I better go.’ He hurried back around and stumbled down the steps._

_‘Bye Umma!’ Taehyung cried, still attached to Chanyeol’s legs._

_‘Goodbye baby. See you next week.’ Baekhyun called back and then fled._

The image of Chanyeol’s ghastly appearance was scarred into Baekhyun’s brain. That night after he’d dropped Taehyung off, he couldn’t stop seeing Chanyeol’s face. Everywhere he went, anywhere he looked, all he saw was that broken husk of a man and it haunted him. Even watching television didn’t help since all the faces turned into Chanyeol’s. So he’d turned it off and tried to concentrate on anything else but that and it worked… for five seconds until he abruptly burst into tears and couldn’t stop crying all night. Only sleep could conquer his sobs.

Months later and Baekhyun could still see that face cutting like a dagger through his mind. In the first few weeks of the separation, Chanyeol had stayed in much the same way. He was always pale, his skin taking on a permanent greyish tone, and there were unchangeable dark circles bruising his eye sockets. It had made Baekhyun feel tremendously guilty but it also filled him with self-hatred for not taking the breakup as hard as Chanyeol obviously was. What was wrong with him?

After a month or so, Chanyeol started to regain some semblance of the man he used to be. Colour returned to his face and his posture was less hunched over. Time really was the ultimate healer. Baekhyun hadn’t felt so guilty anymore and he began to get comfortable with the way his weeks were structured. At some point, he must have just woken up one day and realised that things were going to be alright after all. From then on, they got on with their lives peacefully. He would always hate Fridays but that wasn’t ever going to change.

As Baekhyun swallowed the last mouthful of his dinner, the phone rang. It was like whoever was calling him had timed it perfectly. He got up from the kitchen barstool and went into the living room where his vintage telephone was sat proudly by the sofa.

‘Hello?’

_‘Baekhyun!’_

‘Umma?’

_‘Hello darling. How are you? Have you eaten?’_ Her familiar questions made Baekhyun smile.

‘Yes I just finished my dinner.’

_‘Good, good. Now I’ve got some good news.’_

‘Go on.’ He settled more comfortably into the sofa, curling his legs up underneath him.

_‘Well we thought that all the rooms at the golf club had been taken up but one of Sehun’s friends from school has had to cancel for whatever reason. Which meeeans…’_

‘Umma I-’

_‘You, Chanyeol and my grandson can stay there instead!’_

‘But Umma we didn’t want to stay over in the first place even before, well, you know.’ Baekhyun protested.

_‘Your father’s paying for it all so don’t you worry about that.’_

‘It was never about the money and you know that. If we stay over, we’re going to get forced into brunching with all the relatives and who knows how long that’ll go on for. Then all it will take is one person to say ‘shall we play a round?’ and before you know it, its late afternoon and we’ve wasted a whole day traipsing across a bloody golf course!’ His blood pressure was rising, he could feel it.

_‘Baekhyun, please, none of that has to happen if you don’t want it to. You can either leave early or just stay in the room. You know I’ll never force you into having a meal with Uncle Myunsoo and his moustache that picks up every scrap of food that goes near his mouth.’_

‘Well…’ Baekhyun sighed, considering his Umma’s words. She made a good argument.

_‘Please?’_

‘Fine.’

_‘Oh brilliant! You can check in any time after four on Friday.’_

‘Friday? Why Friday? I thought we were just staying over after the wedding.’

_‘Oh no darling, it’s the night before as well so the limousines can pick everyone up in the morning and take us to the church.’_

‘Bloody hell.’ Baekhyun groaned, rubbing a hand across his face. ‘Right. Fine. I’ll see you on Friday then.’

_‘Excellent, see you then. Goodbye!’_

‘Bye Umma.’

Baekhyun put the phone down and let out a loud, frustrated whine. He looked across at his mobile and noticed that his Umma had just emailed him the booking confirmation for the golf club. He whined again. He was going to have to tell Chanyeol now. He couldn’t just turn up on Friday and suddenly announce that they were all heading down to the golf club right that second. The thought of Taehyung getting the chance to spend a weekend with both his parents motivated him to grab the telephone again and dial in his old house phone number.

_‘Hello?’_

‘Hi Chanyeol.’

_‘Oh hey Baekhyun.’_ Chanyeol responded, barely disguising the shock in his voice. _‘What’s up?’_

‘Well I’m afraid my mother has managed to get us rooms at the golf club for this weekend.’

_‘Really?’_ There was some background noise. _‘Taehyung, wait a minute.’_

‘Yes she didn’t really give me much of a choice. We have to check in on Friday afternoon as well because of some goddamn procession of limousines to the church.’ Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

_‘Oh. Right. Well I better pack a bag.’_

‘Mm yeah.’

_‘And one for this monkey who is err ow sitting on my bladder. Oww Taehyung.’_

Baekhyun laughed. ‘Shouldn’t that little monkey be getting ready for bed?’

_‘We were just reading a story, weren’t we?’_ Taehyung’s voice came yelling down the phone saying ‘yes’.

‘What are you reading?’

_‘We’re reading… hold on, somebody wants to speak to you.’_

_‘Umma?’_

‘Taebaby! Are you being a good boy?’ Baekhyun filled with joy at hearing his son’s voice.

_‘Yes Umma. We’re reading the dinosaur book!’_

‘Again?’

_‘I like the steganorsus the best!’_

‘The stegosaurus?’

_‘It’s got all the pointy bits on its back and it goes raaaarrrrgh!’_ Taehyung broke off into a fit of giggles. Baekhyun laughed at his antics.

_‘Baekhyun?’_

‘Chanyeol. I should probably let you finish the book.’

_‘Yeah, we haven’t even got to the T-Rex yet.’_ More roaring could be heard. _‘Taehyung, come and say goodnight to Umma.’_

_‘Night, night Umma. Love you.’_

‘I love you too, baby. Goodnight.’

_‘I’ll see you on Friday Baek.’_ Chanyeol then said.

‘Yes, see you on Friday.

_‘Bye.’_

‘Bye.’

And that was that.

-

After Baekhyun had finished work on Friday, he headed back to his apartment and went straight into his bedroom to pack for the weekend. He had texted Chanyeol the previous day saying that he would pick him and Taehyung up once he was ready and drive them all to the golf club to meet with his parents and check into the rooms. He filled his overnight case that he used for work with the things he would need and put his newly dry-cleaned suit into a garment bag. Once he’d double-checked that he had everything, he locked up the apartment and left.

When he arrived at the house, Taehyung was bouncing around the living room at top speed. Either he was very excited about the weekend or he’d overdosed on sugar. He looked very cute with his fluffy kitty cat ears. Baekhyun caught him as he was making a leap from one sofa to the other and tickled him into submission, enjoying the squealing and giggling that he’d missed.

‘He’s been hyper since I picked him up from school.’ Chanyeol commented, leaning against the doorframe.

‘You’re not excited about the _wedding_ are you, Tae?’ Baekhyun teased, making a bleurgh sound. Taehyung wriggled as he tried to escape the tickling fingers.

‘Noooo!’ He gurgled.

‘I think he’s just happy to see his Umma, aren’t you pal?’ Chanyeol came closer and sat down on the rug.

‘Yeeees!!’ Despite this shrieked affirmation, Taehyung started to kick wildly with his legs as Baekhyun continued to tickle him. After one too many jabs to the gut, Baekhyun finally gave in.

‘We better get going. Are you all packed?’

‘Yep!!’ Taehyung yelled and immediately zipped off, presumably to get his bag. His parents were left laughing after him.

‘He’s going to run out of energy very soon.’ Chanyeol sniggered.

‘Good then we don’t have to go through the usual bedtime performance.’ Baekhyun loved his son very much but for some reason, the kid was an absolute nightmare to get to go to sleep at the right time.

‘Actually, I think you should ring more often when it’s his bedtime. After he spoke to you, he calmed down straight away and he even fell asleep before I’d finished the book.’

‘Woah.’

‘I know.’ Chanyeol nodded, eyes wide. ‘It was a bloody miracle.’

‘Maybe I’ll ring again another night and see if the same thing happens.’ Baekhyun suggested, his stomach doing an annoying flip at the idea.

‘Yeah you should.’ Chanyeol confirmed. Somehow they ended up locking eyes with each other and for almost ten seconds, there was nothing but silence and eye contact. Then Taehyung returned in a whirlwind of excitement and the moment was over.

They didn’t waste time and went out to Baekhyun’s car with luggage in tow. The drive to the golf club took nearly an hour since it was further into the countryside than their town. The small village that it belonged to was where Baekhyun’s parents lived in their big, old house covered in creeper plants. About fifteen minutes into the journey, Taehyung fell asleep as predicted so Chanyeol turned the radio down and they lapsed into a comfortably quiet atmosphere.

It should have felt completely surreal, since the last time they had all been in a car together was over eight months ago. But it didn’t feel strange… it just felt normal. It felt like they’d simply not had the need to travel in the same vehicle for a while and now they were going on a family outing. Baekhyun didn’t want to pay too much attention to the feeling but he ended up doing so anyway and his mind flitted through pointless notions right up until he was reversing into a parking space at the club.

‘Come on little man.’ Chanyeol grunted as he lifted Taehyung, still fast asleep, still sucking his thumb, out of his car seat. Baekhyun got the bags out of the boot and they navigated their way into the reception.

‘Baekhyun-ah!’

And so it began.

‘Shh, Umma. Taehyung’s asleep.’ He chastised.

‘Oops I’m sorry. Oh look at the little mite!’ His mother cooed, gentle stroking Taehyung’s hair. ‘Hello Chanyeol, how are you?’

‘I’m great Soomi, how are you and Myungseok?’

‘Yes, where’s Appa?’ Baekhyun interrupted.

‘He’s down in the bar with your uncle of course.’ Soomi replied, rolling her eyes. ‘Let’s get you checked in.’ She went with Baekhyun over to the reception desk and went over the reservation with the girl working there.

‘So you’re in room 804. Here’s your key.’

‘What about the other room?’ Baekhyun’s brow furrowed but the girl just looked back at him in equal confusion.

‘There’s only one room, sir.’ She said.

‘ _Mother_.’ Baekhyun growled.

‘Don’t take that tone with me. I thought it was obvious! Sehun’s friend couldn’t make it so you’ve got his room. Singular.’ Soomi explained.

‘What’s going on?’ Chanyeol cut in, coming over to the desk. Baekhyun groaned.

‘We’ve only got one room.’ He said.

‘There’s two beds in the room, sir.’ The girl piped up.

‘Ah, well there you go!’ His mother crooned. Baekhyun shook his head at her and blew an excess of air out of his flared nostrils. He took the key from the girl and walked off to get his bag.

‘Thank you.’ He heard Chanyeol say.

‘I’m going to go and find your father. Will you be coming down?’ Soomi asked.

‘Once Taehyung’s in bed, we’ll probably come and meet up with you.’ Baekhyun replied and they parted ways. He stalked off to the elevator. Chanyeol followed.

They found room 804 easily enough. Baekhyun unlocked the door and led them inside where, sure enough there were two beds. One of them was a king-size with lots of pillows and a cosy duvet. The other was a pull out divan with a single, thin cover. Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol and Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun.

‘You and Taehyung should have the big bed.’ Chanyeol immediately insisted.

‘But your feet will stretch right off the end of that thing.’ Baekhyun protested, looking at the small size of the divan. Chanyeol laughed.

‘It’s alri- oh hey buddy.’ Taehyung’s eyes opened drowsily, he was only just awake but he still managed to throw a spanner into the works once Chanyeol put him down. They watched him rub his eyes and toddle across the room, automatically going straight to the divan and climbing into it. It was a similar size to his bed at home so it made sense but it didn’t stop the panic setting in.

‘Oh, err…’ Baekhyun faltered.

‘We can sort it out later.’ Chanyeol said kindly. They finally wandered further into the room and he hung up the suits in the wardrobe.

‘I’m not sure if I want to leave him up here on his own. What if he wakes up and gets scared because he doesn’t know where he is?’ Baekhyun sat down on the big bed and chewed on his bottom lip, watching the gentle rise and fall of Taehyung’s chest as he snoozed.

‘Well I can stay if you want and you can go find your parents.’ Chanyeol offered.

‘But that’s not fair.’

‘It’s alright, I don’t mind.’

‘No, I mean it’s not fair to me!’ Baekhyun retorted. ‘I couldn’t think of anything worse than spending the evening with my parents and Uncle Myunsoo at the bar.’

Chanyeol laughed ‘Oh I see.’

‘Let’s just stay here and order room service. I’m starving.’ As if on cue, Baekhyun’s stomach rumbled.

‘Fine with me.’ Chanyeol did a little jump and belly-flopped onto the bed. He reached over and grabbed the phone and the room service menu off the bedside table.

They ordered their meals which were brought up on fancy silverware and even indulged with a bottle of red wine. If Baekhyun’s dad was paying for the room then they might as well make good use of it. His mother rang asking where they were but she was quickly informed that they were stuffing their faces and getting an early night before the big day. When they’d finished eating they moved on to a second glass of wine and turned the television on to a low volume so as not to wake Taehyung.

‘He looks like you when he’s sleeping.’ Baekhyun murmured as he went back to watching his son instead of the news. ‘With his mouth wide open and his eye twitching.’

‘Well I’m glad he inherited that rather than these things.’ Chanyeol snickered, flicking one of his ears.

‘Pick up any good radio signals lately?’

‘Oi!’

Baekhyun laughed loudly, grin wide and genuine. Chanyeol smiled toothily back at him. They joked back and forth a few more times until the TV went forgotten and they were soon polishing off the wine as they talked. At half eleven, they conceded that it was a probably a good idea that they take a leaf out of Taehyung’s book and hit the hay however, once again, they were now faced with the conundrum of the sleeping arrangement.

‘I don’t mind, really. I curl up when I sleep anyway.’ Chanyeol reasoned, even getting up off the bed.

‘Chanyeol…’

‘Here, I’ll see if I can lift him without waking him up.’ He approached the divan as if he were about to attempt to deactivate a bomb.

‘Chanyeol.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Just… just sleep here.’ Baekhyun muttered. He kept his eyes fixed on his hands in his lap.

‘Huh?’ Chanyeol questioned dumbly.

‘Sleep here. I don’t… its ok. It’s just easier.’ When Baekhyun dared to look up, Chanyeol was giving him a very ambiguous stare.

‘Alright.’ He eventually agreed and promptly went off to fish his pyjamas out of his bag.

Baekhyun wished his stomach would give it a rest; there was no reason to feel this tense. Well maybe there was. He’d have thought the wine would have calmed him down, after all it had been the wine that had made him make such a stupid, stupid suggestion. He breathed deeply for a few moments while Chanyeol was in the bathroom then got up off the bed to find his own pyjamas and toothbrush. A few more breathing exercises as he waited and Baekhyun started to feel more relaxed.

Then Chanyeol came out of the bathroom in simply a pair of loose slacks and Baekhyun’s nerves set themselves alight. He didn’t miss the smirk from Chanyeol before he hurriedly averted his eyes. He bustled into the bathroom and got himself ready for bed then returned to the main room where all the lights were now turned off apart from one lamp. Chanyeol had made himself comfortable, propped up against the pillows and looking at something on his phone. He let out a small laugh just as Baekhyun was getting into the bed.

‘What’s funny?’ He asked, trying to see the screen. It was a text message chat.

‘Oh, nothing. It’s just Yeoreum from work.’ Chanyeol replied. He was now typing. Baekhyun mentally swore at himself for the sting that occurred when he heard the girl’s name. ‘She’s nuts.’ Chanyeol finally put the phone down, turning it onto do not disturb and setting an alarm for the morning. He let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head. Baekhyun stared at him for long enough that he noticed. ‘What?’

‘Err… night.’

‘Goodnight.’

They were suddenly made very aware of the fact that it was just them, alone, in the bed. The silence was palpable. Baekhyun rolled over to turn off the lamp and once darkness enveloped them, they settled down to sleep. Chanyeol almost instantly started snoring and Baekhyun spent a good hour battling with his anxieties.

-

Morning came with the chiming of Chanyeol’s alarm and the small cannonball that launched itself onto the bed and began jumping up and down incessantly. Baekhyun blearily opened his eyes and turned over to come face to face with a grinning four year old sporting some rather impressive bed hair. He smiled back at Taehyung and opened his arms for the latter to snuggle up into. When Chanyeol stirred and shifted to lean up against the pillows, Baekhyun was almost convinced that they’d gone a year back in time.

‘Mornin’.’ Chanyeol huskily greeted, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

‘Morning.’ Baekhyun replied. Taehyung rolled off him and into the middle, smiling toothily up at his father.

‘Did we go back in time?’ Chanyeol asked as he stared back at Taehyung in a daze. Baekhyun just laughed, knowing that despite all that had happened, he and Chanyeol would always be on the same wavelength.

Getting ready for the wedding was absolute chaos… and that was putting it lightly. Taehyung needed bathing since he slept through his usual bath time the night before which left Chanyeol drenched even before he’d taken his own shower. While that was going on, Baekhyun had attempted to get himself ready but it became a struggle when his mother started texting him every five seconds asking question after question, updating him on the morning’s proceedings and not shutting up. Once she started sending pointless whimsies about how lovely the reception was going to be, Baekhyun switched his phone to do not disturb and threw the damned thing under a pillow.

Chanyeol sent Taehyung running out in naught but his underoos so he could have a shower. Baekhyun quickly grabbed the squeaking child and set about the task of dressing him in his tiny tuxedo which was easier said than done. He quickly blasted Taehyung’s damp hair with the hairdryer, giving him a very electrocuted look, then helped him get into his suit before he started fidgeting too much. It was only when he was trying to attach the bow tie that Taehyung began finding other, more entertaining things to be doing. Namely, blowing raspberries in Baekhyun’s face.

‘Tae, stop. Tae… Taehyung!’

‘C’mere you little monkey!’ Chanyeol abruptly appeared to hoist Taehyung up over his shoulder and give his bottom a few playful pats. Taehyung squealed with laughter of course.

‘I’ll have my shower now.’ Baekhyun said and darted off into the bathroom.

The water temperature was perfection. It soothed the aches in his shoulders whilst making him feel fully refreshed and awake. His mind drifted to last night. Some part of him was wondering why he hadn’t freaked out yet but he knew it was mostly to do with the fact that time had passed. He and Chanyeol had grown accustomed to their lives now. They were comfortable with how things were, or at least they’d become resigned to it. If having to share a room and a bed had occurred months ago, it would have been an entirely different story.

Despite knowing all this, why did he feel disappointed? Why couldn’t he be more worked up about what was going on? Sure, he’d been taken aback by Chanyeol texting that girl. It hadn’t kept him awake _all_ night and it was completely absurd to even contemplate that maybe he was even just the tiniest, weeniest bit jealous. Jealous? That Chanyeol had friends? That made him laugh? Absolutely not. Not a chance in hell.

‘Baek?’

‘Err, oh, yeah?!’

‘Your mother has rung twice now.’

‘Sorry! I’ll be out in a minute!’ Baekhyun scrambled to turn off the shower and shake himself out of his thoughts. Damn his mother. She had no chill whatsoever. He got himself dry and brushed his teeth, checking out his reflection in the mirror. It was quite impressive what a sleep in a luxurious king size bed could do for a person.

Once he had finished in the bathroom, he hurried out. Taehyung had apparently taken a disliking to his trousers for they were in a crumpled heap on the floor and he was jumping up and down on the bed, watching the television that Chanyeol must have switched over onto cartoons. The latter was at the mirror, fixing his hair. Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile at his fruitless attempts to tame that wild black mop.

‘Did you answer?’ Baekhyun asked him, retrieving his phone from under the pillow. There were four miscalls not two. ‘I thought she rang twice.’

‘She rang _me_ twice.’ Chanyeol clarified and Baekhyun sighed. ‘I told her we’d definitely be ready on time but I don’t think she’s convinced. We have to be downstairs by ten o’clock.’

‘Ok, well, I won’t be long.’ Baekhyun tossed his phone back down and went to get his suit from the wardrobe. ‘You might want to use this time to explain to your son why it’s important to be clothed from the waist down in polite society.’ He went back into the bathroom as Chanyeol burst into laughter, having just noticed Taehyung’s downstairs nudity.

-

At 9:58am, they left the room and headed swiftly for the elevators. Baekhyun had pre-emptively sent his mother a text to assure her that they would be downstairs in a matter of moments so as to stop her from having a seizure wondering where they were. Taehyung had been persuaded to protect his modesty and looked very handsome even if his hair was in a league of its own. Chanyeol was the lighthouse guiding the ships in the dark, remaining cool and calm regardless of the madness.

‘There you are!’ Baekhyun’s mother called but it was not just her waiting in the reception; the place was crowded with wedding guests. There were uncles, aunts and cousins everywhere you looked and a lot of them turned their attention to Baekhyun and Chanyeol as they came out of the elevator due to Soomi’s exclamation. Fortunately, the first person to get to them was Kyungsoo.

‘Baekhyun!’ He cried and hugged his friend.

‘Hey Soo. Where’s Jongin?’

‘He’s with Sehun of course.’

‘Oh right.’ Baekhyun knew his memory wasn’t that bad, his mind must just be all over the place that morning. Jongin was Sehun’s best man. They’d become friends in high school and gone to the same university together. It was in their third year that Baekhyun had gone to visit his cousin and brought along his best friend Kyungsoo who immediately hit it off with Jongin. Now here they were.

‘Hi Kyungsoo.’ Chanyeol cut into Baekhyun’s thoughts.

‘I’d forgotten how tall you are.’ Was Kyungsoo’s reply. They were what you could call frenemies. Chanyeol wound up Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo teased Chanyeol, but they still classed themselves as friends. After the separation, however, Kyungsoo had had plenty to say about Chanyeol when Baekhyun went into one of his bitchfests.

‘Uncle Kyungsoo!’

‘There’s my favourite godson!’ Taehyung went whirling up into the air as Kyungsoo lifted him onto his hip. ‘You look very smart in your suit.’

‘Yes, convince him he looks good in it so he won’t take it off again.’ Baekhyun said. He got a raised eyebrow from Kyungsoo, asking for more details to that story but they didn’t get the chance to continue the conversation for all of a sudden, the limos arrived and the commotion getting outside to the carpark was tumultuous.

Excitement and frivolity filled the cars with life but Baekhyun was stuck daydreaming once again. His memory had taken him back to that trip he’d taken with Kyungsoo to visit Sehun. It had been fun getting to hang out with university students again since he had already graduated at that point and he had had an excellent time teasing Kyungsoo about his newfound crush. But there had been one other thing from that weekend that had been far more memorable indeed.

_Sehun had been begging him for weeks to come and visit, he was adamant that Baekhyun had to finally meet his boyfriend Luhan because they would apparently hit it off. Baekhyun had agreed to stay with him for the weekend on the condition that he bring his best friend. Kyungsoo wouldn’t stop complaining about how he never saw Baekhyun anymore because he was so wrapped up in Chanyeol, which was A – ridiculous since Baekhyun and Kyungsoo lived together and B – easily fixable with a trip away, just the two of them._

_So towards the end of April, as a kind of belated birthday celebration for Sehun, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun got the train down to Busan. It was a pleasant journey across the country and the train wasn’t that busy but Baekhyun still managed to get travel sick, because he was lucky like that. When they arrived at their destination, he happily got straight off the carriage and ran to the nearest toilets to throw up his breakfast. Kyungsoo rubbed his back and offered him a bottle of water._

_‘Come on, let’s find your cousin.’ He said, helping Baekhyun up off the floor. The latter took a moment to splash water on his face and tidy himself up, pulling a packet of chewing gum out of his pocket to get rid of the rancid taste in his mouth._

_‘Is it weird if I say I’m really glad I threw up?’ He muttered, fixing his hair. ‘I feel so much better now.’_

_‘I get that too. Hurry up, though, Sehun will be wondering where we are.’_

_They left the toilets and went back out into the station. As soon as Sehun caught sight of Baekhyun, he ran up to him and threw his arms around the smaller boy. Baekhyun laughed and hugged him back, happy to see his cousin’s face after so long. They’d been close as children, always playing together as if they were brothers. Going off to university had been the biggest time apart they’d ever had._

_‘It’s so good to see you!’ Sehun chirped ecstatically. ‘And you must be Kyungsoo.’_

_‘Hello.’ Kyungsoo gave a shy smile._

_‘I can’t wait for you to meet Luhan and my housemates.’ Sehun continued to babble in excited tones all the way from the train station to his house in the student district of the city. He took their bags and went inside, showing his guests into the living room._

_It was a typical student accommodation. The sofas didn’t match, the TV was surrounded by every games console you could imagine, there were a few empty beer cans sat on the window ledge and generally, everything could do with a good clean. But it was homely and familiar to the two graduates now making themselves comfortable on the larger sofa, both remembering their own student house that they had shared in their final year._

_‘Lay are you awake?!’ They heard Sehun shout and then a bang which they could only assume was him kicking a door. He burst back into the living room. ‘Lay’s savagely hungover so you probably won’t see him til later on but Kai should be around here somewhere. Kai?!’ He went into the hallway. ‘Kim Jongin?!!’_

_‘WHAT?!’_

_‘Get your ass down here, my cousin’s arrived with his friend!’_

_Then came the thunderous pounding of footsteps down the stairs and the slight worry that the ceiling was going to cave in. Sehun returned once more, this time with a boy only slightly shorter than him but a whole lot richer in skin colour and with more muscle tone. Baekhyun said a friendly hello to Kai and smiled but his grin turned very amused when he noticed that Kyungsoo had gone rigid and his nose was blushing bright red._

_‘Err hi.’ Kyungsoo stammered._

_‘Hey.’ Kai replied, his voice low and sexy. They stared at each other for just that bit longer than anyone normally would but oblivious Sehun quickly ended the moment._

_‘I’m going to ring Luhan and get him to come over!’_

_~_

_They ended up playing Cards Against Humanity on the living room carpet which mostly just revealed how evil Kyungsoo was. Surprisingly, or not, depending on how you looked at it, Kai was enjoying Kyungsoo’s dark side. He would laugh the most when they discovered which cards Kyungsoo had played, even when everyone else playing was too shocked to be amused. Baekhyun noticed the unsubtle looks they kept shooting at each other, as such he would bet good money that he would be the only one sleeping on the air mattress that night._

_To his delight, Luhan was funny, quick witted and genuinely nice. Sehun could rightly say he told Baekhyun so when he insisted he and Luhan would become friends. Baekhyun was happy and grateful that Sehun had found someone so great, his cousin was extremely lucky. He hoped against hope that their relationship would last, though he had a good feeling it would. It had stood the test of university after all and if that wasn’t a make or break situation then nothing else was._

_The game kept going until there were no cards left in the box and then started up a debate about whether or not they should go out for drinks. Lay was wholeheartedly against the idea with his still pounding head and roiling stomach. He went to bed not long after. Sehun and Kai were very keen for a night out and Luhan agreed to make Sehun happy and Kyungsoo agreed because Kai wanted to go. Baekhyun was last to comment but to his own astonishment, he found he wasn’t that interested in going clubbing. He felt weird. Tired, achy and peculiar._

_‘Go out and have a good time. I don’t mind, honestly.’ He adamantly said._

_‘But Baekkie~.’ Sehun whined._

_‘I refuse to spoil your night.’ Baekhyun retorted. ‘Go on. Leave!’ He laughed. ‘Just look after Kyungsoo for me.’_

_‘I don’t nee-’_

_‘Will do!’ Kai saluted. Kyungsoo turned beetroot._

_Reluctantly, the group started getting ready to leave with Baekhyun at their heels, chivvying them along. He would be damned if anyone ever accused him of being a party pooper._

_‘Are you sure you’re alright?’ Luhan asked him gently._

_‘Of course! I just need to sleep. If you’re not too hungover tomorrow, maybe we could all do something then instead.’ To that suggestion, they perked up and it wasn’t long before Baekhyun was waving goodbye and closing the door._

_He went upstairs to Sehun’s room – or more accurately, Sehun’s rubbish pit – and lay down on the bed after clearing it of all underwear, university work and food. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and saw there were two new messages from Chanyeol. He missed his boyfriend. It had only been a day and he missed him. He was completely pathetic. The texts were nothing more than ‘hope you’re having a good time’ and ‘see you when you get back’ but Baekhyun’s heart swelled nonetheless. After tapping out a reply, he got up and decided to tackle the shower._

_If Sehun’s bedroom had been bad, the bathroom was a cesspool of grime and disease. If Baekhyun didn’t come out of this weekend with tetanus he’d consider himself extremely lucky. The shower was… ok. At least, it wasn’t as bad as the sewage hole called a toilet. There were numerous empty shampoo bottles lying in the shower tray that the students were obviously too lazy to get rid of and if he wasn’t mistaken, that was pubic hair stuck to the tiles._

_‘Here goes nothing.’ Baekhyun sighed and turned on the shower. He went back to where his bag had been left and pulled out the towel he’d had the good sense to bring with him and his pyjamas. Admittedly, he’d been a student once and cleanliness of the house hadn’t been top priority when there were more important things to be doing, like getting shitfaced drunk. But his bathroom had never been as bad as Sehun’s._

_Ignoring the dirt and faecal matter, his shower ending up being relatively pleasant. The water was hot which soothed the aches in his body and the steam made him feel peacefully drowsy so that after he’d got out, put on his pyjamas and brushed his teeth, sleep came exceedingly easy. It even managed to make him too tired to care about how ridiculously uncomfortable the air mattress turned out to be._

_~_

_The first thing Baekhyun became aware of when he awoke the next morning was Kai and Kyungsoo going at it like rabbits. There was no mistaking the rhythmic thumping and the dying walrus noises. He tried not to smile and failed, rolling his eyes. He was happy for them… but he really didn’t need to hear so much. As he was about to cocoon himself further into his sleeping bag and press the pillow over his ears, he got a sudden wave of nausea and had no choice but to leg it into the bathroom._

_Kneeling on that crusty, flea ridden mat circling the toilet was less disgusting that the vomit exploding out of his mouth. So much so that Baekhyun disregarded how filthy the floor was and sat down heavily on it after he’d finished spewing his guts. He wiped his mouth with the hand towel and breathed deeply through his nose. Something was definitely not right with him and if he was completely honest, he knew exactly what that was but he was too scared to even contemplate such an idea._

_‘Didn’t even drink last night and you’re the one throwing up.’ Baekhyun jumped at the voice and snapped his eyes over to the doorway where Luhan was leaning against the doorframe. He snorted humourlessly at the comment and carefully got to his feet, going straight to the sink to brush his teeth. Luhan waited until he was done and then, when Baekhyun turned back to him, he fixed the younger with an inquisitive look._

_‘I’m ok, I erm…’ Baekhyun swore under his breath, knowing he’d have to face the music sooner or later so he might as well get it over with. ‘Is there a pharmacy near here?’_

_Luhan gave him a knowing yet sympathetic smile and said softly, ‘I’ll take you.’_

_~_

_There was a convenience store that belonged to the university just down the road from Sehun’s house and this was where Luhan took him, assuring that it sold almost everything before Baekhyun could even ask. Luhan ended up going round with a basket, picking up things that he needed and what he predicted Sehun would want the minute he woke up. When he found Baekhyun, he took one look at the latter’s conflicted face and took the box off him, dropping it into his basket and getting into the queue to pay without waiting for a protest._

_‘Thank you for helping me out.’ Baekhyun said gratefully to Luhan when they were back at the house, sitting quietly in the bathroom, waiting for the timer to go off._

_‘It’s no problem.’ Luhan smiled. ‘I’m sure Kyungsoo would be here as well if he wasn’t having Jongin for breakfast.’ They both laughed and the mood lightened somewhat._

_Then, of course, Baekhyun’s phone beeped. Time was up and the tension was back. He took a few calming breaths to steady himself and then gingerly picked up the white stick from the window ledge. He shut his eyes just before it came into his vision but quickly berated himself for being stupid. One eyelid at a time, he peered down at the device in his hand and abruptly, all air supplies were cut off._

_‘I’m pregnant.’_

-

The limousines came to a halt outside of the church and Baekhyun was pulled from his memories. He followed Chanyeol out of the car and re-joined Kyungsoo who was holding Taehyung once again. The other guests flooded around the churchyard. Baekhyun recognised most of them. His great aunt was already taking a breather on a low wall, the youngest second cousins were running around squealing and Luhan’s parents who he had met briefly at the engagement party were smiling politely at Uncle Myunsoo’s – probably racist – jokes.

‘Let’s go inside. I want to see Sehun.’ Baekhyun suggested, wanting nothing more than to avoid engaging in conversation with any of his relatives. He could already see Auntie Nahyun, Sehun’s mother, heading towards them.

The inside of the church was dripping in elegant floral arrangements that were so beautifully overwhelming that it gave the appearance of being in a magical forest glade. Clearly one of Luhan’s decisions. The volume of blooms would have made it difficult to find Sehun but, as always, Jongin’s loud voice and laughter gave away their whereabouts in a spot to the right of the altar.

‘Sehun!’ Baekhyun cried in delight.

‘Baek!’ Sehun returned, equally pleased to see his cousin. They rushed forwards to embrace but Baekhyun quickly pulled back in order to get a good look at the handsome young man he barely recognised in all his finery.

‘Congratulations Sehunnie.’ He smiled, fixing the other’s tie.

‘Uncle Sehun!’ Taehyung was furiously wriggling in Kyungsoo’s hold to be let down.

‘I guess favouritism wins.’ Kyungsoo sighed and let the four year old run to Sehun instead. He soon enough found Jongin though and they obnoxiously cuddled together on a pew. Lay snorted at the display of affection and looked to Sehun’s other friend Joonmyun for support but the latter was fondly admiring the couple instead.

‘Chanyeol!’ Sehun abruptly exclaimed.

‘Hey pal, how are you?’ Chanyeol went forward and shook hands with Sehun but the latter was gaping in surprise.

‘I’m great and yourself? I didn’t think you were coming!’ He was grinning toothily. Baekhyun couldn’t bare it. Chanyeol and Sehun had become good friends over the years but the last time they had seen each other was at the engagement party a year ago. It had not been their will to stop communicating but Sehun had dutifully distanced himself when the separation had come about.

‘Long story.’ Chanyeol assured the groom. Sehun flicked his eyes back to Baekhyun and by an unspoken communication, the elder knew that his cousin wanted to talk. Chanyeol must have picked up on it as well for he reached out and took Taehyung, leading him off to meet the other groomsmen.

‘You’re both here.’ Sehun whispered once they were out of earshot. It was a statement but Baekhyun knew Sehun wanted some explanation.

‘It’s all my mother’s fault. She told Chanyeol he had to come and then booked us a room at the club and I thought it was two rooms but it turned out to be one and Taehyung was happy so-’

‘Baek.’ Sehun cut into the ramble.

‘Sorry. I know… I didn’t want him to come.’ Baekhyun muttered, narrowing his eyes at Chanyeol over Sehun’s shoulder.

‘That’s such a lie.’

‘What?!’ Baekhyun struggled to keep his voice down. ‘Yeah, alright, we’re getting along fine but that doesn’t mean I’m not loathing every minute I have to spend with him.

‘Bullshit.’ Sehun hissed.

‘ _Sehun_.’

‘Ok, we’re not getting into this now. It’s just… you were supposed to be one of my groomsmen and then, well, everything happened and we decided you should take a step back from the wedding but now you’re here. Both of you.’ Sehun’s eyes were downcast and it made Baekhyun feel even more guilty.

‘I’m know, I’m sorry. I couldn’t have predicted this a year ago.’ He said. They exchanged wan smiles.

‘You should be my groomsman anyway!’ Sehun suddenly proclaimed, the buzz of an idea lighting up his face.

‘Sehun, I’m not dressed the same as all of you, I’ll look stupid.’ Baekhyun replied, chuckling.

‘But I-’ The intense cacophony of the organ cut through their conversation with one loud chord and looking around, they realised the church had begun filling up.

‘Go get married. I’ll be right over there.’ Baekhyun pointed to the place where he could see Kyungsoo and Chanyeol settling down. He gave Sehun another hug and then left him to go take his seat before the younger could protest.

‘Everything ok?’ Chanyeol asked quietly when he sat down. Baekhyun turned to him in surprise.

‘Yeah.’ He replied, feeling initially muddled by the concern but he shouldn’t have expected anything less from Chanyeol.

Sehun, Jongin, Lay and Joonmyun went to the back of the church as instructed while the rest of the guests took their seats. The wizened priest took his place at the altar, adjusting his robes and flicking through his notes. Baekhyun hoped the organ player would give it a rest soon. It would be marginally more bearable if the organist was any good but, sadly no, that wasn’t the case. It was comforting to see the band that Luhan had booked, settle into their positions and begin tuning up their instruments.

At once, Baekhyun’s prayers were answered and the organ ceased, giving way to the heavenly harp music that swelled and cascaded around the church. Soon, the cellos joined in and the flutes. Excitement built as the music did when the priest signalled for everyone to stand. Baekhyun quickly turned around, grateful he was sat near the end of a pew, so he could watch the aisle. First came Luhan’s 2 year old cousin in a blue tutu. She looked like she had far better places to be and instead of going all the way to the front of the church, decided that abandoning her basket of flowers and running off to her father was highly preferable. Chanyeol’s deep rumbling laugh made the hairs on Baekhyun’s neck stand up.

Next was Sehun’s turn and the guests craned their neck further to get a better view. Joonmyun led the way, then Lay, then Jongin who winked at Kyungsoo on his way past and then Sehun who was grinning from ear to ear. Once they had reached the altar and were standing in the right places, everyone’s eyes shot back to where Luhan was now waiting. His friends Minseok and Tao went first and then, finally, Luhan made his way down the aisle. He couldn’t take his eyes off Sehun, smiling beautifully. Their visions were locked together with so much love that it blew Baekhyun away.

-

The function room at the golf club for the reception was as equally exquisite as the church, if not more so. Baekhyun wondered just how much money the florist had gotten out of this wedding because once again, he felt like he was stepping into an enchanted garden. There were carefully contained tea-lights covering every surface and from the ceiling, as a celebration of two heritages, there hung Chinese and Korean lanterns. It was perfectly festive and magnificent. Baekhyun could readily admit to being jealous of such an extravagant affair and, not for the first time that day, he compared it to his own wedding.

He and Chanyeol had gotten married in the summer after Taehyung had been born. They’d gone to Jeju Island and held the ceremony in a pavilion overlooking the ocean, subsequently going down to a grassy field by the beach front and partying til the sun rose up from the horizon. Only their closest family and friends had been invited which made it special and meaningful. There was really no sense in comparing his own wedding to Luhan and Sehun’s for they were both poignant affairs, but Baekhyun’s was now tinged with sadness.

‘Thinking about _your_ wedding?’ Luhan burst into Baekhyun’s sight in all his resplendent glory. He’d managed to acquire a flower crown from somewhere.

‘How did you guess?’ Baekhyun questioned in surprise.

‘You just had a certain look on your face.’ Luhan replied. He sat down in the free space beside Baekhyun and looked out over the room where he noticed the overall inebriation of people was increasing. ‘I remember Chanyeol decided he wanted to throw the bouquet but you didn’t have one of course, so he threw a pineapple instead.’

‘I don’t think Kyungsoo’s ever forgiven him for that.’ Baekhyun shook his head, feeling amusement bubbling up inside him.

‘He’s still got the scar hasn’t he?’ They both descended into peals of laughter which doubled when Kyungsoo walked past and gave them a funny look. When they finally calmed down, Baekhyun realised Luhan was staring at him.

‘What?’

‘You keep checking on Chanyeol. As soon as the speeches were over and everyone started mingling around, you kept watching him.’ Luhan said, eyes now finding Chanyeol in the room. He was with Joonmyun and some girl.

‘So? I just wanted to know where he’d gone.’ Baekhyun stubbornly snapped.

‘Do you want my truthful opinion?’ Luhan asked, quirking an eyebrow at the defensive boy before him. Baekhyun gave him a hard stare.

‘Go on.’

‘You’re paranoid he’s found someone else or he’s going to and before you argue, it’s _his_ fault that you’re like this so don’t think I’m accusing you of it.’ Luhan paused, studying Baekhyun’s expression. He’d broken at least one wall and that was progress, however, he knew Baekhyun wasn’t going to like what he said next. ‘But you know there’s only one way to stop him from moving on.’

‘Luhan don’t-’

‘Umma!’

‘Oof!’ Taehyung leaped onto Baekhyun’s lap without warning, his elbow connecting sharply with some vital organs. ‘Hey T… Taehyung! Where are your trousers?!’

‘Err…’

‘I’ll be back later.’ Luhan said as he glided away, struggling to maintain his laughter. Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

‘Come on you little exhibitionist.’ He hauled Taehyung up and headed off in Chanyeol’s direction, keeping an eye out for any rogue trousers floating about. The girl had gone now and so it was just Joonmyun and Chanyeol talking together by one of the windows.

‘Hello Baekhyun.’ Joonmyun greeted pleasantly.

‘Hi I just came to ask Chanyeol if he knows anything about this.’ At this, Baekhyun lifted Taehyung the best he could, displaying the boy’s bright red knickers.

‘Ah.’ Chanyeol laughed, putting down his drink on the window ledge. ‘I see. What are we going to do with you, buddy?’ He grinned at Taehyung whilst shaking his head.

‘Tae did you put your trousers somewhere safe? Baekhyun asked, setting his son back down on the floor.

‘I went to the toilet but I forgot to put them back on.’ Taehyung relayed, looking far from innocent.

‘Forgot. Right.’ Baekhyun raised his eyebrows.

‘Umma can I have some cake?’ Both parents scoffed at the request.

‘You’ve already had ice cream!’ Baekhyun pointed out, hands on hips. Taehyung stood firm, sticking his bottom lip out because he was evil like that and knew exactly how to get what he wanted.

‘Aw let the little man have some cake.’ Joonmyun interjected unhelpfully. Easy prey for the puppy dog face. Baekhyun stared Taehyung out for a good minute or two until the lip wobbled and he groaned in exasperation.

‘Fine. Fine! Go get some cake.’ He threw his hands in the air, accepting defeat. Taehyung ran off delightedly. ‘I blame you for this.’ He petulantly jabbed a finger at Chanyeol.

‘What? What did I do?’ Chanyeol sniggered at Baekhyun.

‘He got that face from you.’ Hands went on hips again.

‘Which face? This face?’ Chanyeol’s eyes went big and round as he tilted his head and pouted ever so slightly.

‘No. Stop it. I’m not looking.’ Baekhyun tossed his head to look at the lanterns instead. He barely managed to stifle his laughter but fell into a fit of giggles when Chanyeol’s face came back into his vision, the height advantage making it easy.

‘I’m so glad you guys made up.’ Joonmyun commented amiably. As if a bucket of ice water had been poured over their heads, Chanyeol and Baekhyun sprung apart, all traces of laughter gone.

‘We’re not back together.’ Baekhyun sputtered, maybe a little too zealously.

‘Oh, um, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-’ Joonmyun started stammering in embarrassment.

‘It’s alright.’ Chanyeol placated. ‘I’m going to go talk to Sehun.’ He wandered off, looking extremely put out. Baekhyun hated him for it. Hated him for being upset because it made him feel terrible and guilty.

‘I’m really sorry, Baekhyun.’ Joonmyun repeated.

‘No, it’s… its fine. You’re not the first person that’s said that today.’ Baekhyun mumbled, recalling an infuriating conversation earlier with Auntie Nahyun who had given nothing away with her judgemental pursed lips as he’d told her about the situation.

Drinking seemed to be the next logical step and after excusing himself, Baekhyun left Joonmyun and made a beeline for the bar. He ordered a strong cocktail and took a large gulp when it arrived. By the looks of things, people were making very good use of the free bar which Luhan’s father was apparently paying for. Baekhyun hoped the man knew what he’d let himself in for. A little too quickly perhaps, Baekhyun finished his drink. He blamed it on the straw. He ordered himself another, bypassing the straws and went off in search of someone to talk to that wouldn’t get on his nerves.

As he wandered around the dance floor, where the DJ for the evening was setting up his equipment, he thought back on Luhan’s words. Yes he could agree that Chanyeol had made him unreasonably mistrustful of anyone the latter spoke to. Through deeper analysis, it didn’t quite add up. It should be Chanyeol that he was suspicious of, for Chanyeol was the one who had broken his trust, yet it was the girl from earlier, Yeoreum with her funny texts, Sunyoung who coerced Chanyeol into cheating… Baekhyun hated them all and rightly so, in the case of Sunyoung. However, knowing that he blamed _them_ meant that he was unfairly punishing Chanyeol. So, as he had done far too many times now, he shut down the train of thought and refused to acknowledge that, deep down, he knew his misery was partly his own fault.

‘Might want to slow down there a bit.’ Baekhyun looked first to Kyungsoo and then to the empty glass in his hand. He let out a timely burp.

‘I hope you’ve also given that advice to your other half.’ He set the glass down and pointed to where Jongin was giggling at the tiny groom figurines on top of the cake whilst glugging down champagne straight from the bottle.

‘I tried to take the champagne away from him and he bit me.’ Kyungsoo deadpanned, severely unimpressed. Baekhyun laughed. Though he now led the way back to the bar, he realised he was starting to feel the alcohol from the cocktails alighting his system. Kyungsoo eyed him dubiously while he ordered a third but went ahead and got himself a drink as well.

‘Today’s been a good day.’ Baekhyun declared, clinking their glasses together.

‘It has.’

‘The ceremony was perfect, Taehyung’s been on his best behaviour… minus the trousers.’ He paused. ‘ _Literally_. Minus the trousers.’ Kyungsoo sniggered, catching sight of Taehyung running happily barelegged across the dance floor. ‘My mother hasn’t been a total nightmare, though there’s still time, and even Chanyeol’s been surprisingly agreeable.’

‘Surprisingly? Chanyeol’s always agreeable.’ Kyungsoo sipped his drink with a small crease of a frown between his eyebrows.

‘Pffft.’ Baekhyun scoffed, taking a bigger gulp.

‘Ever since you broke up you’ve managed to find all these imaginary bad things about Chanyeol that never existed before.’

‘Well I… obviously I was just, err, blind sighted.’

‘Right.’ Kyungsoo replied in a patronising tone.

‘What?’ Baekhyun growled. ‘Since when have you been Chanyeol’s number one fan anyway?’

‘Baek, come on. I’m not trying to be snide. I just think that sometimes you seem to forget who Chanyeol actually is because you’ve got him as this big villain in your head.’ Kyungsoo said softly. ‘I’m going to go stop Jongin from cutting the cake before Luhan and Sehun do but I’ll find you later.’ He swiftly departed so that Baekhyun was stuck thinking about what he’d just said.

It was only natural that he would hate Chanyeol – the man had cheated on him for crying out loud! If he overreacted sometimes about how terrible a person Chanyeol was, it could only be attributed to how badly Baekhyun had been hurt. He downed the rest of his drink again and made a swift decision to not reflect on his failed relationship for the rest of the night; it was annoying him. When the lights suddenly went down and changed to the colourful disco beams, he breathed a sigh of relief, grateful to have a distraction.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, in a few short moments, the two grooms will be dancing their first dance as a married couple.’ The DJ smoothly intoned through his microphone. Baekhyun instinctively looked around for his son, concern igniting that Luhan and Sehun would start their dance and be interrupted by a half-naked, fully mad child covered in cake. Fortunately, Chanyeol had already neutralised the threat. Baekhyun took off in their direction, narrowly avoiding Uncle Myunsoo who was regaling some horrific story about his antics as a teenager.

‘Hey, you’ve got your trousers back on!’ He exclaimed delightedly when he reached Taehyung sat on Chanyeol’s lap.

‘Daddy said I could play on his phone if I put them back on.’ The four-year-old replied, not looking up from the game he was playing on Chanyeol’s Samsung. Baekhyun rolled his eyes. Bribery worked far too well on Taehyung.

‘I also said you’ve got half an hour and then Grandad’s taking you upstairs to bed.’ Chanyeol warned.

‘He is?’ Baekhyun asked, unaware of this arrangement.

‘Yeah he came over before and said that he didn’t mind. Then something about ‘getting away from the parrot’.’ Chanyeol smiled in mild confusion.

‘My mother.’ Baekhyun clarified. ‘She squawks.’ He looked over his shoulder and as if on cue, his mother erupted into an aptly described squawk of a laugh. ‘Well I shall toast Appa with my next drink then.’

‘He said there’s a sofa bed in their room as well so Taehyung can stay with them tonight.’

‘They didn’t mention that before!’ Baekhyun cried indignantly. ‘That could have saved us having to sleep in the same bed!’

‘I told you I didn’t mind taking the divan.’ Chanyeol pointed out, sniggering lightly.

‘Urgh never mind. Do you want a drink? I’m going back to the bar.’

‘I’ll come with you. Did you know you’re slurring your words?’ The taller one teased.

-

Luhan and Sehun’s first dance was magical and Baekhyun would firmly place the blame on how much alcohol he’d consumed as to why he found himself brushing away a few stray tears. It certainly put his own first dance with Chanyeol to shame where, at their reception in that beautiful field by the ocean, he’d held on tightly to his new husband as Chanyeol drunkenly stumbled around trying to dance whilst crying like baby, muttering about how much he loved Baekhyun.

‘I’m off upstairs now Baek.’ His dad cut into his thoughts.

‘Oh, right. Goodnight Taebaby, be good for Grandad.’ Baekhyun smiled at his son in the arms of his father. Taehyung already looked sleepy; he must have been coming down from his sugar high.

‘Night Tae.’ Chanyeol added, ruffling Taehyung’s hair.

‘Night night Ummappa.’ The four-year-old’s words rolled into one as he yawned. He was slurring almost as badly as Baekhyun had been before. He’d like to think he’d gotten a grip on his inebriation but he hadn’t stopped drinking yet.

Taehyung and Grandad disappeared out of the hubbub of the function room and Baekhyun was left realising that this was the longest he and Chanyeol had hung out for in quite a while. He should be having fun with his friends. He should be dancing like a lunatic with Kyungsoo or playing a prank on his cousin with Luhan. Something, anything other than spending time with the one person he’d least like to hang out with in the world. Yet here they were. They were having fun. Yes, they were drunk but that was only a small factor.

Suddenly, the song transitioned into one that Baekhyun could clearly identify as one of “their” songs and he wondered whether now would be a good time to bolt. He could see the thought formulating in Chanyeol’s head. He was going to ask Baekhyun to dance. There was no escaping it. Baekhyun watched in slow motion as the other man put his drink down and turned towards him. He opened his mouth… the question was about to form…

‘Hey ever one!’

Never let it be said that Kim Jongin wasn’t an angel sent from heaven above. A really, really drunk angel.

‘Hey! Hey. I’d like tosay a few wordsss.’

‘Jongin, get down!’ Kyungsoo hollered, trying to pull Jongin down from where he was precariously stood on a chair with a microphone he’d acquired from god knows where.

‘No Soo! I needa make a spitch. I’m the bess man!’

‘You already made your best man’s speech you blithering idiot!!’

‘Lissen guys I’ve known Seyun for like a rilly long time an I’m glad tha his got Luuuuhan bickoz iss not ever one tha’ll get over someone nilly pooping durin- AH!!!’

And that was when the groom tackled the best man to the ground.

Chanyeol exploded into belly-aching laughter which Baekhyun joined him in. They struggled to breathe, wiping away tears of mirth as they watched Jongin and Sehun wrestle semi-playfully on the ground while Luhan and Kyungsoo tried to get them apart. It was so funny in fact that when the DJ started up the music once again, Baekhyun was in such a good mood that he all but dragged Chanyeol onto the dance floor where they proceeded to entertain each other with some atrociously hilarious dance moves.

After a couple of songs and what could best be described as dad-dancing, Baekhyun needed a breather. Chanyeol followed him to a mostly empty table where they sat and helped themselves to the wine that was still floating around since dinner. What Baekhyun hadn’t noticed was that he’d sat himself right next to his most nosy and stuck-up great aunt.

‘Nahyun told me you two are divorced.’ The old crone voiced without care. Baekhyun sighed.

‘We’re not divorced, we’re just separated, Aunt.’ He explained to which she just tutted at.

‘Is that what it is? Looks to me like you’re just confusing that poor child of yours. Taeyoon needs a stable home! Not this modern, fancy ‘living situation’ that you call it.’ She droned on.

‘It’s Tae _hyung_ , Aunt.’ Baekhyun replied through gritted teeth. ‘Come on Chanyeol.’ He muttered and got up to move away.

‘You just watch Taehyung doesn’t end up with lasting damage!’ His aunt grumbled as a parting comment.

With more determination than before, Baekhyun stormed off across the room to a quieter area and lifted a trembling hand up to cover his face. He’d had his worst fears thrown at him in accusation by a blood relative no less. His aunt was old, with an old viewpoint of the world, but it didn’t make the sting hurt any less. He raised his eyes up to the lanterns on the ceiling and breathed in deeply to try and quell the emotion tightening in his throat. Chanyeol caught up with him and placed a large hand in the curve of Baekhyun’s spine. It was a familiar, comforting gesture.

‘You alright?’

‘Not really.’

‘Want to talk about it?’

‘Not really.’ Baekhyun chuckled despite himself. ‘I’m a terrible parent.’ The lump in his throat renewed its intensity.

‘No you’re not.’ Chanyeol insisted, rubbing his hand up and down Baekhyun’s back. ‘You’re the world’s best Umma. You’ve got the mug to prove it.’ He smirked and Baekhyun found himself laughing. ‘You want to go get really drunk and forget that that ever happened?’ Chanyeol suggested.

‘You read my fucking mind.’

-

‘Baekhyun, get up off the floor!’

‘Make snow angels with me Kyungsoo!!’

‘No, Baek-’

‘ _I’ll_ make snow angels with you Baekhyun!’

‘Jongin!!! For the love of god…’ Kyungsoo face-palmed, leaving the atrocious behaviour for someone else to deal with. He’d had enough for one night.

‘Oh my god I love this song!’ Baekhyun abruptly sprang up from the floor, pulling Jongin with him and began dancing wildly.

The disco was in full swing. Baekhyun had transitioned to ‘giddy’ drunk; the stage that explained where Taehyung’s madness came from. Although he went out to fancy clubs and bars regularly with his work, this was the most fun he’d had in what felt like forever. He finally felt like he could let go and forget about daily stresses. It was how he’d felt at university when he didn’t have an exam to study for and in a way it was bittersweet since he’d never be able to relive those days again. He could at least come close to it tonight.

‘Baek! Baek I got you another drink!’ Chanyeol came rushing over, nearly tripping over his own limbs. He was an uncoordinated giraffe when he’d had a lot to drink – constantly flailing around.

‘Thank yooouu~’ Baekhyun crooned, immediately relieving Chanyeol of the electric blue cocktail in his hands and glugging a good portion of it.

‘Hey guys!’

‘Luhan!!’ Baekhyun cried enthusiastically as if he hadn’t seen Luhan for weeks.

‘You know whut I jus had to come tell you,’ pause for burp. ‘I just got to tell you how amazing you are, I love you so much.’ Luhan flung his arms around Baekhyun’s neck, snuggling his head in and then, like he hadn’t noticed Chanyeol before – ‘and you! Chanyurul! You’re amazing too.’ He pulled the giant into the hug without warning and they stumbled around, each trying to find purchase on some solid ground and each failing until Sehun jumped in and managed to keep them all from falling.

‘Let’s go open the preseeennntts!’ Sehun grinned, pressing his face directly on Baekhyun’s face.

The next thing anybody knew, they were all hurrying across the room to the large table that had been set up for the purpose of displaying wedding gifts. Sehun picked up a colourful bag and pulled out a bottle of expensive champagne, deciding in a split second that what they needed right there and then was that champagne. The cork flew off, narrowly avoided blinding an old man and the explosive bubbles from the bottle went showering straight down Chanyeol’s right trouser leg.

‘Spillage is lickage!’ Sehun proclaimed and attempted to suck up the wasted champagne from Chanyeol’s trousers but he was kicked away.

‘Wait a minute…’ Luhan interrupted, stood in the middle of the overflow pile on the floor. ‘Who the hell got us these enormous mushrooms?!’

‘Run Chanyeol! Go, go!!’ Baekhyun grabbed Chanyeol’s wrist and fled the room entirely, not stopping his sprint even when they heard Luhan’s screech of ‘BYUN BAEKHYUN!’

The chortling pair crashed into the elevator and rapidly punched the number for their floor a thousand more times than necessary, catching the sight of Luhan running towards them as the metals doors gently came together. The lift began moving and Baekhyun started laughing again which set Chanyeol off and by the time they reached their room, they were a giggling, fumbling mess. They all but fell inside and shut the door behind them.

‘My pants r’all wet.’ Chanyeol stated in a babyish voice. Baekhyun smirked at him.

‘Betterer get em off them… then.’ In his alcohol-soaked mind, the task of taking Chanyeol’s trousers off required his help and he went right ahead to do just that. With a team effort they managed to rid those incredibly long legs of the champagne soiled slacks.

‘Woo!’ Chanyeol whooped. He then flung himself across the room to sprawl across the bed. Baekhyun followed suit though he didn’t enjoy how much the bounciness of the action made his head spin. It took him a few moments to find a focal point and stop feeling so dizzy. ‘Woah, Baek.’

‘What?’ The room ceased twirling around him as Baekhyun locked gazes with Chanyeol.

‘Your eyes.’ The latter murmured. ‘In the moonlight… they sparkle.’

Silence covered them like a warm blanket. Chanyeol continue to marvel at the sparkling quality of Baekhyun’s eyes and Baekhyun stared right back, noticing how the previously mentioned moonlight was creating a halo around Chanyeol’s hair. Neither could tell who initiated it but suddenly they were kissing. Kissing like a starving lion feasting on its first meal in days. They gripped at each other’s clothing, trying to press themselves further together as if their lives depended on it, as if they might slip away from each other should they let go.

Baekhyun moaned at the feel of Chanyeol’s tongue working its way over his lips and into his mouth. He bit lightly at Chanyeol’s lower lip then moved downwards to bruise more kisses into the other man’s neck. Chanyeol grappled with Baekhyun’s blazer, shoving it off and quickly moving onto his shirt and tie, ripping them away to feel the smooth, pale skin underneath. He found a nipple and squeezed making Baekhyun’s breath catch.

Chanyeol rolled over him to pull his trousers down, managing to get his underwear off at the same time. Baekhyun had already kicked away his shoes and now he hurriedly divested Chanyeol of his shirt and boxers. With clothes removed and strewn across the bed and floor, they ravaged each other’s bodies, kissing, licking, biting, tasting as much of each other as they could. Chanyeol took it that one step farther by pushing Baekhyun further up the bed, lifting his hips slightly and mouthing at his entrance.

He swiped his tongue around the pink flesh, darting in ever so slightly. Baekhyun panted, writhing and clawing at the sheets. Chanyeol licked across the entrance with his tongue flat before really working that muscle in between the tightly wound hole. It spurred him on to hear Baekhyun’s incessant moans and the fingers that now scratched and pulled at his hair. He tried to spread as much saliva around as he could in way of lubricant and when his jaw began to ache, he seamlessly switched from tongue to finger.

Baekhyun’s mouth formed an O shape when he felt Chanyeol’s long digit push in and swirl around. There was a hint of pain, dulled down slightly by alcohol and the rubbing against his prostate. He hadn’t slept with anyone since they’d broken up and Chanyeol seemed to know that. He was quick but skilled with his probing fingers, the total now up to two scissoring Baekhyun’s open. He brought his mouth down to lick and coat more saliva as he stretched Baekhyun. When he added a third, Baekhyun hissed but he was so beyond the point of caring about a little pain.

Chanyeol worked his three fingers as much as he could, noting just how erect Baekhyun was. The latter looked completely wrecked, flat out across the rumpled sheets, hair in complete disarray and a look of pure carnal satisfaction on his face. Chanyeol couldn’t wait any longer, his own cock was throbbing against his abdomen. He reached down with his other hand to lubricate it and give a few quick tugs before guiding it to Baekhyun’s entrance.

When Chanyeol pushed in, it was the most blissfully whole feeling. Baekhyun cried out lewdly, grabbing Chanyeol’s thigh to keep him in place, digging his nails into the skin. He fought to catch his breath but they were already rocking, grinding together. It was setting Baekhyun’s skin alight with fiery passion and sweat. The pace increased and increased. Chanyeol leant down, groaning against Baekhyun’s neck then sinking his teeth in to leave a mark. With hot slick skin sliding together and moans reaching fever pitch, Baekhyun came. Hard. It didn’t take long after that for Chanyeol to come as well with a guttural growl.

He slumped down on top of Baekhyun, their sweat mingling in a sticky sensation. They were both breathing heavily, succumbing to the tiredness that now fell over them. Chanyeol slowly pulled out and Baekhyun whimpered at the rush of arousal that that oversensitivity brought. He could feel wetness seeping out of him.

Eventually they found a more comfortable position to sleep in. They got under the sheets and Chanyeol spooned up against Baekhyun who held onto the arm that wrapped around him so perfectly. It was so infinitely warm and peaceful that they drifted off to sleep within minutes, both with faint smiles lingering across their faces.

-

It was raining when they woke up. Baekhyun came to first and immediately noticed how sore he was, the pounding in his head making it even worse. He rolled over and watched Chanyeol slowly rouse from sleep, his eyelids fluttering open. For a few moments it was just Baekhyun staring at the other man while Chanyeol battled away the last vestiges of sleep. But then he too rolled over and stared right back.

‘Hi.’ He whispered.

‘Hi.’ Baekhyun whispered back.

The silence that followed was odd. It was comfortable and it wasn’t. They were both still not quite awake and were steadily registering their hangovers. Baekhyun had pain screaming behind his eyes and Chanyeol was sick to the stomach, both were gasping for water. Lingering in the space between them, however, was the unspoken acknowledgement that last night had happened. It had actually happened. It was going to take a while to process… but it had happened.

‘I think… I’m going to go have a shower.’ Chanyeol’s voice was hoarse.

‘Ok.’ Baekhyun agreed. ‘Will you get me some water before you do?’

‘Yeah, of course.’

With a grunt and a groan, Chanyeol rose up from the bed, wincing as his joints ached and his stomach churned. He shuffled into the bathroom and grabbed two glasses of water, one for Baekhyun which he handed to the latter and one for himself that he took back into the bathroom with him, shutting the door and turning on the shower. Baekhyun fervently sipped at the liquid, enjoying the feeling of moisture returning to his dry mouth and throat.

When he’d drained half the glass, he took a moment to ready himself and then carefully got out of bed. His lower back protested but he kept going and managed to stagger over to his suitcase, the inside pocket of which he produced a box of max strength painkillers. After taking two, he gladly made his way back into bed, grabbing his phone off the side table as he did so. There was a text from Kyungsoo.

After you left Jongin threw up in the middle of the dancefloor and Lay fell in it.

Baekhyun giggled wheezily as he read the text. He sent a reply saying ‘hope you got it on film’ then lightly threw his phone across the bed. He felt a smile sneak its way onto his face and when his brain caught up, he realised that he was smiling at the fact that he’d had sex with Chanyeol. The smile dropped. He chewed on his lip. What had he done? Why did he let that happen? Well, he _had_ been very drunk. However, he’d been in control of his faculties, he could remember everything from last night more or less so he couldn’t have been _that_ drunk. It had been completely consensual. He’d _wanted_ to do it.

Dwelling on the whys and hows of it wasn’t important, he concluded, deciding where to go from here now that it had occurred… that was crucial. Baekhyun knew that as soon as Chanyeol got out of the shower, he was going to raise the question of if they were getting back together. What would his answer be? Yes? No? Absolutely no way in hell? He growled with his indecision. On the one hand, no, he did not want to get back together, Chanyeol had betrayed him once so what was to stop him doing it again? On the other hand… yes.

They had been happy. Ridiculously happy. Being with Chanyeol made up the best years of Baekhyun’s life. To have that back again would be more than he could ever wish for. But… could they ever be that way again? Now, with everything that had gone wrong? Baekhyun had fallen in love so fast and so deeply and continued to love with his entire soul that when it had been ripped apart, he’d been certain that nothing could ever heal the wound. But perhaps the person who’d broken his heart was the only one that could fix it again.

-

_When Baekhyun arrived home from work, the apartment was incredibly quiet. There were only a couple of lamps switched on in the living area, the rest of the open plan space was dark. He carefully put his bag and keys down by the front door, took off his coat to hang up on the hooks, then treaded lightly across the laminate flooring. As he moved further into the room, he became aware of the loud snoring sounds coming from the sofa and so he headed that way, eventually peering over the top of it._

_He covered his mouth to stop the squeak coming out as he looked down. Chanyeol was lying flat on the sofa, mouth open and snoring, hair flopping around his face wildly. On his chest was Taehyung, lying face down, mouth open and snoring, his fluffy hair sticking up in random places. His little hands were curled up into fists that gripped Chanyeol’s t-shirt tightly. Baekhyun got his phone out of his back pocket quicker than lightning and took a picture that he then set at his lock screen wallpaper._

_‘Baek?’ Came a whisper from behind him. He spun around to see Kyungsoo shuffling into the room._

_‘Hi Soo.’ He whispered back._

_‘Do you think I can make my dinner now? I’m starving but they’ve been asleep for ages.’ Kyungsoo came to stand by Baekhyun at the side of the sofa._

_‘You should have just woken them up if you were hungry.’_

_‘I know but look at Taehyung. I couldn’t do it.’ Kyungsoo reached a hand down and gently stroked the baby’s cheek. Baekhyun took inspiration from the action and reached down as well, however, he took one finger and shoved it up Chanyeol’s nose. With a loud snort, the giant woke up. Kyungsoo laughed as he went off into the kitchen. ‘Thanks Baek.’_

_‘Huh… Baek?’ Chanyeol mumbled as he came to. He smiled when he saw Baekhyun looking down at him. ‘Good day at work?’_

_‘Yeah, it was.’ Baekhyun replied. Abruptly Taehyung let out a yawn and starting stretching. He was waking up as well. ‘Hello sleepyhead.’ He stroked the three month old’s soft hair and then walked around to the other side of the sofa so that he could crouch down next to it. Taehyung eyes steadily opened and closed and he yawned again._

_‘Hey Tae.’ Chanyeol murmured, grinning. At the sound of his father’s voice, Taehyung’s eyes opened fully and his mouth went into a surprised little O shape. He stared at Chanyeol in some kind of awe and then, slowly, he started smiling. ‘Hey you’re smiling at me!’ Chanyeol chuckled, the vibrations of his laughter making Taehyung bounce up and down slightly._

_‘He’s so cute!’ Baekhyun exclaimed, taking another picture of the baby. He put his phone down and felt a sudden, powerful wave of emotion. It wasn’t sadness, it was love. All-consuming, everlasting, unconditional love. He stroked Taehyung’s little head again. ‘How did we make this?’ He breathed._

_‘I know right.’ Chanyeol replied, he was looking at Baekhyun now. Baekhyun flicked his eyes from the baby to his fiancé. He leant in and they kissed with a firm press of lips on lips. Taehyung interrupted them with a sneeze. Even with snot coming out of his nose, he was still smiling._

-

His phone vibrated while he was still deep in thought. He robotically reached out to pick it up with his mind a million miles away. Looking down at the device, he first registered the text message from Lee Sunyoung and from that, it took him a total of three seconds to realise he’d grabbed Chanyeol’s phone and a further two to fully comprehend that Lee Sunyoung, the girl who Chanyeol had cheated on Baekhyun with, had texted said cheating scumbag.

Hi, I’m back in town this week. Want to meet up?

Baekhyun was being pulled from every angle. Rage boiled in him, making him grind his teeth and clench his fists. Anguish bit at his heart that pounded against his chest. Panic flushed his veins with icy venom and seized his airways in a vice-like grip. He was rooted to the spot with the phone sitting innocuously in his lap. However, when he heard the sounds of the bathroom door opening, he shot out of the bed, phone in hand. He didn’t look at Chanyeol but he walked right up to him and slammed the phone into his chest before going into the bathroom and shutting the door with a bang.

He caught the sharp intake of breath that was Chanyeol gasping and rapidly locked the door. After that his body moved on autopilot. He turned on the shower, got undressed and then stepped under the blissfully hot water. His brain was too stunned to think. Unfortunately, not long after he’d finished shampooing did his emotions take over the mainframe of his system and he burst into tears.

He tried not to make much sound but his breathing was coming out in great shuddering gulps. The tears and his running nose mingled with the water sliding down his face. It was only after he felt like he’d gotten enough sobs out that he tentatively turned off the shower and clambered out. He wrapped himself in the large fluffy white towel, feeling small and weak. The last of his cries subsided with a few hiccups as he dried himself off and put on the hotel dressing gown.

Baekhyun took a look at himself in the mirror before he dared to go back out into the room. His eyes were blood-shot and his face was slightly puffy. He’d looked better that was for sure. The one thing he was almost happy to note was that he didn’t feel hungover anymore. _Almost_ happy. He took five long, deep breaths. The door unlocked with a loud clunk and when he opened the door, he shivered at the contrast in temperatures. It just made him feel feebler.

‘Would it be stupid of me to ask if we could just forget this happened?’ Chanyeol’s gravelly voice rumbled. He was sat on the end of the bed, looking down at his phone that he held loosely in both hands. When Baekhyun didn’t reply straight away, he turned his head in the latter’s direction. There was recognition in his eyes that he knew Baekhyun had been crying. Although it was fairly obvious.

‘Before I say anything else, I just want to tell you that I picked up your phone accidentally. I thought it was mine. I wasn’t snooping.’ Baekhyun surprised himself with the steadiness of his speech. Chanyeol nodded slowly.

‘I guessed that might have happened.’ He muttered. They were quiet for a few moments, almost as if they were both too tired to argue. In a way that was true.

‘Why did this have to happen? Why did she have to text you?’ Baekhyun murmured, more to himself than Chanyeol.

‘Well I’ve blocked her number. She won’t be doing it again.’ Chanyeol got up from the bed, throwing the phone onto it. He scrubbed his hands over his face and scratched behind his ears. ‘Look I-’

‘No. Don’t. I should’ve known that this could only end in disaster with you.’ Baekhyun said viciously.

‘What?!’ Chanyeol cried in outrage. ‘Baekhyun, I’m on your side here. Why the hell would I want her to text me?! Why would I want this to happen after last night?’

‘Well that’s just it! We have sex for the first time in months and the day after, she texts you. It’s like the universe is trying to tell us that last night never should have happened! That it was a mistake!’

‘You’re seriously going to write off any chance of us salvaging our relationship because of some _sign from the universe_?’

‘Oh don’t mock me.’ Baekhyun snarled. He marched across the room, deciding that now would be a good time to start packing.

‘I’m sorry but don’t you think it’s worth ignoring one stupid little text from someone we _both_ want out of our lives if it means that we might finally be able to work things out?’ Chanyeol implored. Baekhyun just looked at him. In the rational part of his mind, he agreed with Chanyeol but damaged feelings were suffocating his sensibilities.

‘I need to think.’ He replied at last.

‘Take all the time you want.’ Chanyeol said. He suddenly headed for the door.

‘Where are you going?’

‘I’m getting Taehyung so we can go home.’

-

Leaving the golf club went efficiently. Taehyung was still sleepy enough that he just followed along with what was going on and once he was strapped into his car seat, he picked up the teddy bear that always rode along in the back with him and quietly sucked his thumb, staring out of the window. Baekhyun wondered if he knew something was wrong, he was a fairly perceptive child. Regardless, the four-year-old didn’t say anything for the rest of the ride home and neither did Chanyeol. The only noise that filled that journey was the low hum of the radio and the pattering of the rain.

When they arrived back at the house, Baekhyun was ready to just let Chanyeol get out, grab his suitcase and say goodbye – it was Baekhyun’s week with Taehyung after all. But as soon as the car stopped, Taehyung unplugged his own seatbelt and let himself out, toddling straight up to the front door. Baekhyun was left with little choice other than to follow him. After Chanyeol had retrieved his case, he went and unlocked the door, letting them all in. Taehyung shot straight into the living room.

‘Taehyung, come back, we’ve got to go.’ Baekhyun called after him.

‘Give him a minute. He’s probably forgotten that it’s your week.’ Chanyeol interrupted. He went over to the kettle and filled it up, gesturing to Baekhyun with it but the other man shook his head. ‘You don’t have to rush back to your apartment, you know.’ Chanyeol said as he began making himself a coffee.

‘I do, Chanyeol. We still have a separation agreement to adhere to.’ Baekhyun replied, curling his arms around himself, not that he was particularly cold. The pleasant smell of coffee filled the room.

‘Yeah but surely the lines have been blurred now.’

‘ _Chanyeol_.’ Baekhyun warned, detesting the smirk on the taller one’s face. ‘Nothing is going to change right now.’

‘Hmm.’ Chanyeol sipped his coffee, a faint smile still playing about his lips.

‘Taehyung!’ Baekhyun called again. This time footsteps came running back through the hall and Taehyung’s expectant face appeared in the archway.

‘Yeah?’

‘We have to go now. It’s your week with me remember.’ Baekhyun reminded him.

‘What?’ Taehyung whispered in shock. Baekhyun’s heart fell to the pit of his stomach when his son’s bottom lip began to wobble and tears swam in his eyes. ‘I don’t want to go.’ He wailed.

‘Tae, come on. It’s only for a week.’ Baekhyun beseeched the child, trying to stop the tears but his words just made it worse. Panic was rising in him again.

‘Taehyung, stop this. You’ll be back here before you know it.’ Chanyeol said, putting his mug down and coming around the island counter to where Baekhyun was stood staring down at Taehyung in distress.

‘No!!’ Taehyung cried. He flung himself down to sit on the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks and his sobs getting louder still.

‘Taehyung, please.’ Baekhyun reached down and tried to pick up the screaming boy but flinched back when Taehyung shoved away his arms. ‘Tae…’ He could feel his heart crumbling in agony at the rejection from his son but even when he thought the pain couldn’t get any worse, Taehyung crawled over and clung onto Chanyeol’s leg.

‘Taehyung?!’ Chanyeol exclaimed in astonishment. Baekhyun felt his own tears stinging the back of his eyes and in a fight-or-flight response, he ran out of the house. Getting into his car and driving far, far away was his first idea but he couldn’t. He furiously wiped at his eyes with trembling hands.

‘Umma!!!’ He heard the terrified shriek and turned right back around. Taehyung was running after him. He opened his arms and cried with relief when his son leapt straight into them and clutched onto his neck. His tears soaked Baekhyun’s jumper but he couldn’t care less, he just held Taehyung as they both cried.

Chanyeol appeared then. His expression was fearful and pale but, with a determined mien, he wrapped an arm around Baekhyun and guided him back inside the house. He sat the smaller man down on the living room sofa and crouched in front of him. Baekhyun sniffed, accepting the tissue that was then held out to him and began rocking Taehyung back and forth. The boy’s sobs had turned to pained whimpers and stuttering breaths but he was slowly calming down.

‘I have to stay.’ Baekhyun whispered, his voice still choked with emotion. Chanyeol sighed and nodded at him. If he was happy about that decision for other reasons, he gracefully didn’t show it. He gazed at Baekhyun with concern in his features and gently used his thumb to brush away the last stray tear that escaped from Baekhyun’s left eye.

‘Hot chocolate?’ He asked. Smiling at the irony that his offer of a hot drink had previously been denied. Baekhyun let out a small laugh.

‘Yes please.’ He replied.

Chanyeol ended up making not just a hot chocolate but an entire breakfast for Baekhyun. In all the stress of the morning, he’d barely given food a thought but as soon as he walked into the kitchen and saw the toast, cereal and fruit laid out so magnificently on the island, Baekhyun’s stomach growled with need. He found a stool and sat down heavily, gaping at the spread in front of him.

‘I would have made cooked breakfast but I don’t have much food in.’ Chanyeol said as he set down a jug of orange juice. ‘Where’s Taehyung?’

‘He fell asleep so I left him on the sofa under a blanket.’ Baekhyun responded, still a little dumbfounded. Chanyeol detected it, though, and jumped up with worry.

‘What? What’s wrong? Do you not like cornflakes anymore? I’ve got Coco Pops.’

‘No, no, Yeol. It’s all fine. It’s great. Thank you.’ A stab of anxiety hit him when he realised he’d said ‘Yeol’ like he’d used to but it seemed to have gone unnoticed.

‘Oh, good. I’m glad.’

They were both jumpy. The situation was awkward and bizarre. Eating their food in silence was not going to help that any but for a minute or two it was all that occurred. Baekhyun had a great long list of topics he was _not_ going to bring up which left very little in the way of small talk. Fortunately, Chanyeol managed to diffuse the tension.

‘The badgers seem to be doing well.’

‘Oh really?’ Baekhyun queried after the couple of seconds it took him to remember that there were badgers living at the bottom of the garden.

‘Taehyung’s named them after us.’ Chanyeol continued and Baekhyun’s chewing of his cereal slowed. ‘He told me that they’re a family like we are.’ Baekhyun swallowed thickly and put down his spoon. Chanyeol noticed but he gave a small chuckle. ‘Yeah I thought it was odd at first too but I came to the conclusion that he’s just so adjusted to our life that it’s become perfectly normal to him now.’

‘I couldn’t be more grateful for how well he’s adapted to it all.’

‘Me too.’

‘It’s what made his outburst today even more shocking.’ Baekhyun shook his head in disbelief. His hands found purchase on the mug of hot chocolate like it was a comfort blanket.

‘I know.’ Chanyeol assented. They lapsed into silence for a brief while.

‘My aunt might be a cantankerous old woman but she’s right, we _are_ confusing Taehyung. He must have been so happy the last couple of days with us all together that he thought everything was fixed.’ Baekhyun could feel his breathing getting strangled. ‘And it’s all my fault. I never should have believed that going to the wedding together would be a good idea. He’s only four! Of course he’d assume everything was back to the way it was if that’s what it looked like!’ He gasped for breath, covering his face with a hand and squeezing his eyes shut. He heard Chanyeol get up from his stool and come around the counter to where he was sat.

‘Look at me.’ Chanyeol insisted, pulling Baekhyun’s hand away. When Baekhyun opened his eyes, his vision was blurred with unshed tears. ‘It isn’t your fault.’

‘Yes it is!’ He wept.

‘No, Baekhyun. We can’t start blaming ourselves, we just have to find a way to make things better.’ Just like he’d done before, Chanyeol caught Baekhyun’s tears with his thumb and wiped them away. ‘Taehyung’s tired. He always gets upset when he’s tired, you know that. I’m not saying that he wasn’t genuine, I just think we shouldn’t worry too much considering that this has never happened before.’

‘But he…’ Baekhyun stopped what he was going to say. He turned his eyes down to his knees.

‘But what?’ Chanyeol asked.

‘Nothing.’

‘Tell me.’ The urgency in his voice made Baekhyun look back up and relent.

‘A-a couple of weeks after we split up, Taehyung had a nightmare, so he came and woke me up. He forgot all about the dream pretty quickly but then he asked me where you were and I tried to explain the best I could, even though I’d already been over it all, but he just started crying for you and he wouldn’t stop until he fell asleep.’

Chanyeol blanched and took a step back. He was looking at Baekhyun with the most ambiguous face that was paling rapidly. His hand clamped down on the edge of the counter. Baekhyun opened his mouth to say something but changed his mind when he began to recognise the suffering in Chanyeol’s expression. He knew he should never have told him about that night.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Chanyeol’s voice came out quiet and raspy.

‘I… at the time, I didn’t want to speak to you at all unless I had to.’

Chanyeol nodded. ‘Don’t you think it was important? I mean, I could have been there. You could have rung me. It’s not like I was dead.’ Anger was rising in his tone. At his last word, Baekhyun realised what was running through the other’s mind.

‘Chanyeol, I’m sorry.’ He said and meant it wholeheartedly.

Two years ago, Chanyeol’s father had died of a stroke. He’d been ill for a long time, the family had been preparing for it, but the heartbreak that fell over all of them afterwards couldn’t be helped. Chanyeol had had a month off work to grieve although he didn’t quite return to his usual self for another half a year. Baekhyun had done his best to try and ease the pain, maybe he should have tried harder.

‘Doesn’t matter.’ Chanyeol muttered. ‘Are there any other times Taehyung has cried himself to sleep that you’ve not bothered telling me about?’ Baekhyun hesitated for a second too long. ‘Baekhyun!! How could you keep this from me?!’

‘Because I didn’t want you to know!! I didn’t want you to be smug knowing how much he missed you!’

Chanyeol scoffed. ‘As if I’d be that childish!’  

‘Look, I… I just couldn’t bare the fact that he wanted you, the person that hurt me.’

‘So it all comes back to your feelings again, doesn’t it?’ Baekhyun flinched at Chanyeol’s suddenly derisive tone. ‘ _You’re_ the one who got hurt, _you’re_ upset, it’s all terrible for _you_. Well, guess what, _you_ … are completely selfish!’

‘Cha-’

‘Do you not realise how utterly miserable I’ve been?! Did you ever even consider how badly you’d hurt _me_ by leaving because of a mistake I _loathe_ myself for making?! My whole world revolved around you… you were everything… and then you were gone.’ He sniffed. His eyes were red. ‘Taehyung’s my only connection to you. Every other week it’s like I’ve got you back in my life. W-why… why wouldn’t you tell me?’ His voice cracked.

‘Chanyeol…’ Baekhyun felt like he’d just tumbled down a cliff and was lying in a crumpled heap of self-hatred.

‘Just-’ Chanyeol changed his mind about saying anything more. He threw up his hands in exasperation then left the room. Baekhyun heard him go upstairs and then the bedroom door slammed shut.

There was nothing more to do other than tidy away the kitchen, gently pick up Taehyung while he slept and carry him out to the car. It was a deathly silent ride back to the apartment. Once there, Baekhyun put Taehyung in his bed and went back out into the living room. He only noticed he was shaking when he was sat down on the sofa, chewing his bottom lip. There was a lot to think about.

-

Kyungsoo all but demanded that Baekhyun go round to see him the following week. So, when Baekhyun had finished work he drove to his friend’s house instead of his own and once there, bestowed the honour of picking Taehyung up from school onto Jongin. The benefits of that idea were twofold – one, Taehyung would be beyond excited to discover his Uncle Jongin in the playground and two, he got at least half an hour alone with Kyungsoo to talk.

‘Alright, I know something happened on Saturday night and I want to know what, how and why.’ Kyungsoo commanded, no sooner did Baekhyun’s bottom graze the cushion of the sofa. Baekhyun gave himself time to formulate an answer and took a breath before he did so.

‘What: Chanyeol and I… had sex.’ Kyungsoo gasped but Baekhyun ploughed on. ‘How and why: well, we were incredibly drunk.’

‘I see.’ Kyungsoo said, his eyes wide as he tried to process the revelation. Then he gave Baekhyun a suspicious look. ‘There’s more to the story, isn’t there?’

Baekhyun nodded. ‘Yes, it’s… it doesn’t get any better.’

‘Lay it on me.’ Kyungsoo leaned back, settling in for what he obviously knew would be a riveting tale. Baekhyun blew out a long breath.

He explained what had happened the morning after. About the text message and the short argument he and Chanyeol had had. Kyungsoo gasped again when he told him about Taehyung’s outburst but it was when he reached the part about what Chanyeol had said to him in the kitchen that Kyungsoo’s face went studiously neutral and he became quiet. At the end of his story, Baekhyun waited with a sickening feeling in his stomach for what Kyungsoo would reply with.

‘You should have told him.’ The other man said softly.

‘I know.’ Baekhyun’s voice choked as grief sliced through him, but he managed to keep a lid on it, even as Kyungsoo moved closer so that he could wrap Baekhyun up in a hug.

‘Listen, I know you’re probably going to bite my ear off for this, like the last time I suggested it, but don’t you think couples therapy is worth a try?’ Kyungsoo questioned. Initially, Baekhyun’s eyes narrowed but the more he thought about it, the more he found his resolve giving in.

‘I’ll look into it.’ He replied.

‘Honey I’m hooome!’ Jongin then called from the front door. ‘I stole a child from school for you, I hope that’s alright!’ He appeared in the entryway to the living room, Taehyung happily resting on his hip. The minute he caught sight of his Umma, however, he wriggled incessantly to be let down.

‘Umma! I drew you a picture!’ Taehyung flung himself onto the sofa in the middle of Baekhyun and Kyungsoo and produced an A4 sheet of paper covered in bright acrylic paint.

‘Ooh isn’t it nice!’ Kyungsoo praised, stroking Taehyung’s hair.

‘What is it, baby?’ Baekhyun asked.

‘It’s a whale!’

‘Oh yes, of course it is. There’s its tail.’

‘No, Umma, that’s its nose.’

‘I didn’t know whales had noses.’ Kyungsoo exclaimed.

‘What’s this bit over here?’ Jongin asked.

‘It’s the fire!!’ Taehyung replied with gusto.

‘So it’s a fire-breathing whale?’ Baekhyun clarified.

‘No it did a fart that exploded!’ Taehyung collapsed into a fit of giggles that left the three adults little choice but to laugh along with him.

-

Despite the ball of energy he had been at Kyungsoo and Jongin’s house, Taehyung was unusually quiet that week. So much so, in fact, that his teacher Wendy came out with him to the playground after school and discreetly asked if she and Baekhyun could talk inside. Taehyung was quite happy to occupy himself with the sandpit for the time being while Baekhyun followed Wendy into her classroom.

It had been a long time since he’d been in that room although not much had changed. The cubby by the window was still filled with beanbags and cushions, a large stack of books was sitting in the middle of them that had been taken from the enormous bookshelves along the far wall. Hanging from the ceiling was a network of strings from which paintings were pegged on like laundry. The vivid colours gave the illusion of stepping into a canopy of festival bunting.

‘Here, sit down.’ Wendy offered, pulling out seats at a small table. The chairs were even smaller. In any other situation, the sight of the two adults sat at a child’s table with their knees bent up to their chins would have been comical. ‘I just wanted to ask you if you’ve noticed any abnormal behaviour from Taehyung at home because, in the last few days, he’s just not been quite as… animated as he usually is.’ Wendy began. Baekhyun knew ‘animated’ was the polite way of putting ‘totally mad’.

‘Actually, yes, he has been quiet.’ He admitted.

‘He told me that you went to a party at the weekend.’

‘Oh that was my cousin’s wedding. Taehyung had a brilliant time.’ Baekhyun smiled. ‘His routine was messed up by it though and err… well, his father and I had a fight so I think that’s upset him.’

Wendy hummed in acquiescence. Baekhyun had been extremely glad when he found out that she would be Taehyung’s teacher. She was young and compassionate and received glowing reviews from all the parents. Taehyung loved her to pieces, though, the sad truth of it was that when he’d started school, she had had to be there for him quite a lot since he’d found it so difficult to make friends and thus, he was very attached to her.

‘The one good thing that’s occurred because of this is that he seems to be playing with the other children more often.’ She said as if she’d read Baekhyun’s mind.

‘Really?’ He asked, spirits lifting. 

‘Yes. He’s joined at the hip with Jimin these days. I can’t help but wonder, however, if maybe he’s a bit lonely.’

Baekhyun’s smile dropped. Taehyung had always been very independent; he lived in his own crazy little world. It had bothered Baekhyun from time to time that he seemed more content having fun by himself than with anyone else but had brushed the worry aside because at least Taehyung was happy that way. Now, though, he had to agree that Taehyung had gotten clingy and not just in the last week.

Wendy, sensing Baekhyun’s distress, leant across the table slightly to garner his full attention. ‘I wouldn’t worry too much right now. If all that’s happened because of a bit of loneliness is that he’s made a friend, that’s got to be a positive thing. He’s doing fine. I think he just needs to know that everything’s ok at home.’

‘Yeah,’ Baekhyun sighed and nodded. ‘You’re right. Thank you.’

‘I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t you worry.’ Wendy grinned and the both of them stood up to leave. They went back outside and caught Taehyung chasing a pigeon.

‘Tae, we’re going home now!’ Baekhyun called.

‘Okaaay~!’ Taehyung yelled back, giving up on the bird. He bounced over to his Umma and his teacher. ‘Bye Wendy.’ He chirruped.

‘See you tomorrow, Taehyung.’ Wendy waved goodbye as Baekhyun took hold of Taehyung’s hand and they departed from the school.

In the car, Taehyung chatted about what he’d done that day like he normally did and Baekhyun listened intently like _he_ normally did. Unfortunately, the conversation with Wendy was now gluing itself to the conversation with Kyungsoo. Taehyung needed to know everything was ok but there was no sense in lying to him, everything _needed_ to be ok and if therapy was what it took to get there, that was what they had to do.

-

Baekhyun had absolutely no idea what Chanyeol was going to be like when he got home from work. With the way they had left things at the weekend, it was plausible that the other man might not even speak to him. There was nothing he could do but wait until quarter past five when Chanyeol would arrive. In the meantime, Taehyung played in his room and Baekhyun spent a while sitting with a cup of tea in the lounge. His mind was still buzzing from the busy day he’d had at work. Contracts upon contracts upon contracts. But he had completed it all, and that was extremely satisfying.

As his thoughts wandered a little more, he remembered the impulsive investigation into Chanyeol’s bank statements he’d made last week. It still baffled him as to what on earth Chanyeol could be taking that he hadn’t known about before the separation and he wondered just how long this been going on. After a minute or two mulling it over, curiosity got the better of him and he got up from the sofa.

The kitchen was his first port of call. The cupboard above the fridge was where they had always kept medication. Baekhyun grabbed a stool and climbed up to properly see into the cupboard. There were a few boxes of painkillers and similar medicine for Taehyung. Antihistamines, vitamins, digestive tablets, bandages… Nothing was sticking out. Disappointed, Baekhyun got down from the stool. He cast his eyes around and landed on the door to the utility room.

Unsurprisingly, there were two enormous piles of laundry yet to be put in the washing machine. Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He had a look around the shelves but other than a whole load of knickknacks and assorted rubbish, nothing medical could be found. Baekhyun left the room and meandered out into the hallway, his feet taking him in the direction of the study.

When he reached the door, something made him hesitate. The study had never been officially called ‘Baekhyun’s’ but still, they had both always known it was his. When he’d worked from home it had been his office. He’d spent long hours in there catching up on paperwork or accounts or even just losing himself in the internet to escape for a while. Chanyeol would come in every now and then to shut the curtains, bring him a hot drink or occasionally hoover around him but the room had always been Baekhyun’s small haven. Yet he hadn’t set foot in it for almost nine months.

He opened the door with determination. The room smelt completely unlived in and looked like it too. It was tidy, practically bare. The desk that had once been laden down with files and stationary and Baekhyun’s laptop were all gone. The only indication that Chanyeol had been in there in the past year was the vacuumed carpet, the plant still flourishing on the windowsill and the distinct lack of dust. Baekhyun stood looking at it all in silence, his nose slowly inhaling and exhaling.

The dull thud of the front door closing made him jump. His breathing quickened dramatically at the shock but he calmed down soon enough and left the study. However, as soon as it sank in that Chanyeol was home, his hands went clammy once again. He made his way back to the kitchen. It was time to face the music whether he wanted to or not. Time to bring up the therapy idea.

‘Hello.’ He said softly as he entered the room. His eyebrows shot up when he saw that Chanyeol was in his fire officer’s uniform. ‘Were you called out?’

‘Err yeah.’ Chanyeol replied, taking off his bulky jacket. ‘Gas explosion in a supermarket.’

‘Oh my god, was anyone hurt? Are you hurt?!’ Baekhyun started to rush forwards but faltered as he got nearer to Chanyeol.

‘I’m fine. It wasn’t a big explosion, only a few of the staff have been taken to hospital but they’ll be ok.’ The latter replied. He had a strange look on his face but before Baekhyun could question him on it, Chanyeol explained himself anyway. ‘I’m sorry for yelling at you and then storming off, I was just upset.’

‘Chanyeol, it’s alright. I… _I’m_ sorry.’ Baekhyun felt the worry for his next question dissipate now he knew that things were civil between them again. ‘Actually, I want to ask if you’ll consider going to couples therapy.’

Chanyeol gave a short laugh. ‘Finally?’ He teased. Baekhyun released his tension with a grin.

‘Yeah, finally.’

‘Let’s do it then. I think I still have the number for the therapist Kyungsoo recommended to us ages ago.’ Chanyeol started rifling through the mess of paper scraps and post it notes by the phone. ‘Where’s Taehyung?’ He asked.

‘Upstairs.’ Baekhyun gestured to the ceiling. ‘That’s the other thing I wanted to speak to you about.’

‘Oh, right. Go on.’ Chanyeol was immediately concerned, his attention pivoting from finding a phone number to his son in an instant. It was a trait of his Baekhyun had always admired, there was nothing more uplifting than talking to someone who was genuinely invested in what you had to say.

‘His teacher’s been a little worried about him this week, she says he’s been quiet which is obviously a red flag where Tae’s concerned. Although, apparently he’s made a friend.’

‘Really? Perhaps we should see if he wants to have his friend round to play?’

‘Mmm yeah.’ Baekhyun nodded. ‘Anyway, I better go and say goodbye to him.’

‘And I better go try and get the bonfire smell out of my hair.’ Chanyeol sniggered.

They headed up the stairs. Baekhyun went to Taehyung’s room and Chanyeol went into the master bedroom. Taehyung came and hugged his Umma goodbye with a toothy grin. It was such a relief to not have a repeat performance of Sunday morning; Baekhyun didn’t know if he could handle seeing his child in so much pain for a second time. He left Taehyung to his toys and exited the room. As he began stepping across the landing, he looked up and let out an involuntary squeak when Chanyeol’s half naked body suddenly appeared before him. Chanyeol automatically broke out into laughter instead of saying goodbye as he’d been about to.

‘Goodbye Chanyeol.’ Baekhyun ground out, shaking his head exasperatedly.

‘Ahah, yeah, I’ll sort out the therapy session and let you know the details.’ Chanyeol wouldn’t stop smiling in that annoying, gratified way so Baekhyun left forthwith.

-

Chanyeol picked Baekhyun up from his place of work at twelve o’clock. Baekhyun had an hour and a half for lunch and their appointment with the therapist began at half twelve. It had worked out seamlessly. Baekhyun left his office when Chanyeol text him to let him know he’d arrived. He made a lame excuse to Jongdae as to why he couldn’t have lunch with him – that the latter definitely didn’t believe – then went to the elevators and pressed the button for the basement. Chanyeol was waiting in a corner of the carpark.

‘Hi.’ Baekhyun greeted as he climbed into the vehicle.

‘Hey.’ Chanyeol smiled. ‘Hungry?’

‘What?’ Baekhyun replied in surprise. ‘Sorry, I mean, yeah?’

‘Good.’ Chanyeol smirked again. Well it looked like they were going for lunch together. That hadn’t been discussed in the plan. In truth, Baekhyun had forgotten all about the necessity of eating during his lunch hour while they’d been making arrangements.

He shook off his surprise and took note that he hadn’t been in Chanyeol’s enormous Volkswagen for a long time. The other man kept it in pristine condition. Every weekend he washed it, hoovered and tidied the inside and made sure that every inch of it was running smoothly – the electrics, the wiper fluid, the tire pressures… etc. If it wasn’t for the lack of a new-car-smell, you’d think that it _was_ a new car.

‘I met Jimin this morning.’ Chanyeol said.

‘Taehyung’s friend?’

‘Yes. He actually seems to enjoy how bonkers Taehyung is.’ They both chuckled.

They managed to fill the journey with more light chatter and before Baekhyun knew it, they were parked up down a back street in the middle of the city. He had a vague idea where they were but no clue where Chanyeol was leading him now, down the street and across a main road. He tried to ask but Chanyeol just tapped the side of his nose. After a few minutes walking down the same road they stopped at a building with two potted olive trees by the entrance.

Baekhyun discovered, as they went inside and were shown to a table, that the place was a Thai restaurant which was a relief since he liked Thai food a lot. Chanyeol had taken him to some godawful eateries in the past but every once in a while, he managed to get it right. They ordered their food and talked about this and that idly while they waited.

‘Are you nervous?’ He decided to ask. Looking tentatively up at Chanyeol’s face instead of the fake flower by the salt and pepper shakers.

‘About the therapy session? A bit. You?’

‘A bit.’ Baekhyun repeated with a smirk. ‘I hope it helps.’ He muttered in admittance, turning his eyes back to the flower.

‘I hope so too.’

‘We’ve already made a slight progress though.’ He said airily but with a leading tone.

‘Have we?’ Chanyeol cocked his head to the side like a puppy. Baekhyun stared at him.

‘Did you or did you not high five yourself when you came up with this cunning little plan of taking me out on a date without my prior consent?’ He interrogated with one perfectly arched eyebrow. Chanyeol burst into laughter.

‘So we’re on a date, are we?’ He comically feigned ignorance. ‘And here I was thinking that I was just out for a nice casual lunch!’

‘Hey, no! _I’m_ not saying it is a date! You implied it with your… implications!’ Baekhyun quickly protested but it just made Chanyeol laugh even more.

Whether or not the lunch was a date remained unsolved throughout their meal. However, Baekhyun would argue that Chanyeol paying for it all while he was in the bathroom would constitute date-like behaviour. He decided to drop the issue in favour of concerning himself with what exactly their session with the therapist would entail. He’d never been to anything like it before. Not the school councillor, not the university helpline, nothing and he’d wager Chanyeol hadn’t either, though he could be wrong.

Clever/smug Chanyeol had chosen a restaurant within walking distance of the doctor’s office so within ten minutes of leaving the place, they were at the reception desk of a private medical centre specialising in couple’s therapy. The young boy at the desk took their information and told them to take a seat but it wasn’t long before he was calling them right back up again to go through to the doctor’s room.

Dr Shin was a petite woman in her forties. She wore horn-rimmed glasses and had shoulder length black hair. Baekhyun could tell how maternal and good-hearted she was just by her mannerisms as she welcomed them into the room and invited them to take a seat on the large pastel blue sofa under the window. She sat down in the armchair that faced the sofa and picked up her tablet to tap away at a few things on it.

‘So you’re Chanyeol and you’re Baekhyun.’ She clarified, gesturing to each of them in turn as she looked up from the tablet.

‘That’s us.’ Chanyeol replied.

‘Great! Now, before we start I just want to let you know that you can share anything you want with me, whether that’s within these sessions together or privately. On a similar note, if there’s anything you would really prefer not to discuss then don’t worry, I won’t force it out of you. Do you have any questions for me before we begin?’

Baekhyun and Chanyeol exchanged glances but neither of them could think of any burning question they wanted to ask. ‘No, I don't think so.’ Baekhyun voiced.

‘Right then, we’ll begin.’ Dr Shin smiled. She consulted her tablet for a moment. ‘I think the best place for us to start is with what went wrong so, I would like to hear from each of you why you think it is that your marriage reached an impasse. If you could each remain silent while the other gives their account that would be much appreciated. Baekhyun, why don’t you start?’

‘Erm ok.’ That fateful day came back to his mind like a cold sweat. ‘I had forgotten some paperwork at home that I needed for work so I went to get it in my lunch hour. When I got home I found Chanyeol and a strange woman naked in bed together about to have sex. After that I couldn’t stand to be around Chanyeol since he’d broken my trust, so I moved out.’

‘Alright. Now, Chanyeol.’

Chanyeol clutched and smoothed the trouser material around his knees. ‘Well, err, Baekhyun walked in on me with a girl I knew from work and even though, deep down, I didn’t really want to have sex with her, it was too late.’

‘Mmm.’ Dr Shin nodded. ‘What brought you to the point where you thought you might have an affair with this girl?’

‘Err... I suppose, well, it was nearly the first anniversary of my father’s death and um, I wasn’t thinking straight. So when Sunyoung turned up at the house, I just let her in and hung out with her because I was feeling lonely. I didn’t realise she had a crush on me.’

‘So it was her that initiated the physical contact?’

‘Yes.’ Chanyeol muttered. ‘But I didn’t stop it.’

Baekhyun suddenly noticed how his knuckles had gone white from gripping the cushion beside him. He let go and put his hand in his lap. He’d known all about what Chanyeol had just said from one of the many voicemails he’d received from the latter after catching him with Sunyoung. Chanyeol had confessed how miserable and out of sorts he’d been in the weeks leading up to the anniversary of his father’s death but the guilt that spurred in Baekhyun from that knowledge made him delete the voicemail and shut away his emotions.

‘Ok well, we’ll come back to the separation at a later time but I think it’s important to know how all marriages begin. So, tell me about the time you two first met.’

‘It was at university…’

-

_Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in alarm as Baekhyun came careening down the corridor into the living area, squeaking all the way._

_‘Minho’s having a party tonight and all the basketball team are going to be there!!’ Baekhyun hollered after he’d taken a second to catch his breath._

_‘Careful or you might sound desperate.’ Kyungsoo deadpanned. His roommate just brandished his middle finger._

_‘Come on, it’ll be fun! I’ve been begging Minho to have a party with all his teammates for weeks!’_

_‘Of course I’m coming! Now I have a valid excuse to put off that stupid essay.’ Kyungsoo broke off into a grumble. He went into their kitchen space and opened the fridge, perusing its contents. ‘We’re out of mixers.’ He then took a glance into one of the cupboards. ‘And alcohol.’_

_‘Ah.’ Baekhyun frowned._

_‘It’s alright, I was going to the shop anyway. I’ll get something.’_

_‘Perfect! I’m going to jump in the shower.’_

_‘Yes, you better start getting ready now or the party will be almost over by the time we arrive.’ Kyungsoo narrowly dodged the cushion thrown at his head as he ran out of the apartment._

_~_

_Minho studied on the same course as Baekhyun where they’d quickly become friends. He was also a member of the university’s basketball team. Baekhyun had yet to figure out how the boy was managing to juggle both a sports team and a law degree. He’d also always assumed that everyone who played basketball was a lumbering, sweaty idiot with big shorts._ _That was until a couple of Minho’s teammates bumped into him and Baekhyun in between classes and Baekhyun discovered that maybe he could get into basketball after all. Kyungsoo had retorted with ‘I think it’s the basketball player’s pants you want to get into’. Well… he wasn’t wrong._

_After only three sexual encounters in his first year and one of them with his old flatmate that didn’t speak to him anymore, Baekhyun was itching to find something more exciting. What better way to do that than go to a party full of chiselled basketball players and take his pick? He put together an outfit that accentuated his assets in a colour scheme of black, black and more black, tousled his hair to look like he’d just gotten out of bed and finished the look off with smudged burgundy eye makeup._

_‘You look like a stripper.’ Kyungsoo stated as soon as Baekhyun left his bedroom._

_‘Good!’ He grinned. Kyungsoo just rolled his eyes._

_They headed out of their student apartment complex and began journeying across campus to where Minho’s house was located. From the few times Baekhyun had asked, he knew that Minho lived with two of his fellow teammates and three other people. With six students in residence, the house must be a lot bigger than Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s tiny flat and indeed it was. It was also fit to bursting by the time they arrived._

_They managed to squeeze their way through the drunkards and into the kitchen where Baekhyun spotted Minho near the fridge. He went over to announce his arrival and received a hug that lifted him off the ground in return. Kyungsoo kept his distance in fear of the same thing happening to him but Minho merely greeted him warmly and thanked him for coming. After the pleasantries, Baekhyun decided they were far too sober and promptly grabbed the tequila. He poured each of them a shot and they toasted to a great party._

_‘So, Minho, this basketball team… who’s single?’_

_Minho burst into laughter. ‘I knew you were going to ask!’_

_‘I don’t mess around.’ Baekhyun winked. He heard Kyungsoo cough around the word ‘slut’ and flipped him the bird once again._

_‘Well,’ Minho began, surveying the hordes of party-goers. ‘The guy sat on the sofa is Chansung, he just split up with his girlfriend.’_

_‘Ripe for the taking.’_

_‘And by the stereo is Joohyuk, who I live with, and Hongbin.’_

_‘Dreamy.’_

_‘The one in the red jumper is Jaehwan and coming down the stairs now is Jisoo.’_

_‘Christ, he looks like he was sculpted by angels.’ Baekhyun blew his fringe upwards as he attempted to cool down his heated face. Minho laughed again._

_‘Oh, and this is Chanyeol!’ He exclaimed as someone approached the island counter. Chanyeol looked up like a deer in headlights when his name was called. ‘Yeol, this is Baekhyun from my course and his flatmate Kyungsoo.’_

_‘Ah h-hi.’ Chanyeol thrust out his hand which Baekhyun and Kyungsoo shook in turn. He grinned, still looking startled but he seemed to calm down after the initial shock wore off._

_‘I think I might work the room.’ Baekhyun announced, pulling a flirty expression and waggled his eyebrows at Minho before gliding away from the kitchen and nonchalantly going over to the stereo system in the corner. He put on a show of looking through the record collection that was stacked underneath it until one of the two boys standing there asked if he needed any help. Like taking candy from a baby._

_~_

_A couple of hours later and both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were merrily drunk. They had quickly made friends with the other people at the party, engaging in a rowdy game of Kings that escalated into Minho’s housemate Jonghyun getting dared to chug a pint whilst doing a handstand. He choked halfway through, fell out of the grasp of the two who’d be holding his legs, flailed in the air for a second before crashing right back down onto the coffee table and sent the saucepan in the middle of it catapulting upwards, the disgusting mix of alcohol that had been inside splashing over everyone sat on the sofas. Baekhyun declared it was the best game of Kings he’d ever played._

_Kyungsoo had gotten to talking to a girl he knew from his own course which left Baekhyun to mingle with as many basketball players as he liked. He’d had quite a fun conversation with Hongbin and Joohyuk by the stereo, mainly about music. They were very nice but not… naughty. To satisfy his current needs, Baekhyun needed to find someone with a lot more sex appeal. That’s how he found himself tailing after Jisoo when the latter went into the kitchen to get a drink._

_Baekhyun stumbled into the counter but used it to keep his balance once he was there. He rifled through the bottles collected all over it, trying to find what Kyungsoo had bought for them but it seemed they had vanished. Had they drunk them already? …It was entirely possible. He pouted and debated the likelihood of anyone noticing if he took their alcohol. That’s when Prince Charming swooped in._

_‘Want a beer?’ Jisoo asked, already holding one out for Baekhyun. Baekhyun beamed._

_‘Thanks!’ He took a hearty swig of the liquid, not entirely enjoying it after all the sweet drinks he’d had previously but it was alcoholic._

_‘Can’t believe you mooned everyone just now.’ Jisoo sniggered._

_‘A dare’s a dare.’ Baekhyun shrugged._

_‘Kudos on the ass by the way.’ Jisoo raised his beer in a salute then took a gulp. Baekhyun’s mouth pricked up at the corners from the compliment, his nose going red._

_‘I try.’_

_They bantered back and forth for a while; Jisoo leaning against the fridge, looking completely ravishing in his sleeveless vest that exposed such muscular, sun-kissed arms. Baekhyun did his best to compete in the looks department. He knew how to show off his lithe body and perhaps mooning his naked bottom to the entire room was a little ostentatious but Jisoo had already said that he liked it so now it was time to see what else he liked._

_Unfortunately for Baekhyun, their time was cut short when some other basketball player jogged into the room and took Jisoo off to spectate an arm-wrestling contest going on._

_‘Come on, Baek.’ The other boy beckoned to him. Baekhyun followed, still disheartened that the alone time was over but glad that Jisoo still wanted to hang out with him. They went back into the main room where the dining table was now being used as a wrestling ring for arms. It was Taecyeon v.s. Wonsik and it looked like Wonsik was losing._

_‘Hey.’ Someone nudged him and Baekhyun startled at the sudden greeting. He turned and noticed it was Chanyeol but had to do a sudden double-take to fully comprehend the fact that said boy was currently half-naked._

_‘Hi.’ Baekhyun hiccupped._

_‘I was in the splash zone.’ Chanyeol explained, gesturing to his bare torso then cheering as Taecyeon won the match. Baekhyun followed his hand movement then kept his eyes glued to the set of incredibly defined abs and bulky chest. His mouth filled with saliva that he gulped back down and made a conscious effort to keep his jaw from dropping._

_~_

_Somehow everyone ended up dancing. It usually always happened at a party, one way or another. Once the initial sober awkwardness had gone and the getting-to-know-other-people stage had passed, then it was time to crank up the music and let inhibitions fly out of the window. Baekhyun found Kyungsoo again and they danced together, jumping up and down on the sofas so they could feel taller than the basketball team for the first time all night. When Chanyeol drew near to where they were frolicking, Baekhyun felt a giddy rush in his heart and he jumped down into the other’s receptive arms._

_They danced like maniacs, not caring what they looked like although Chanyeol’s long limbs gave him the appearance of a giraffe on roller-skates. It just made everything funnier. It all spun into a blur of spinning, shimmying and laughing. So much laughing. And yet… as soon as the song changed to something just that little bit sexier, Baekhyun could taste the change in atmosphere between the two of them. He gazed at Chanyeol through his lashes and felt his skin prickle with goose bumps._

_Instead of flapping around and executing crazy dance moves, Baekhyun began grinding to the rhythm, swaying his hips from side to side. Chanyeol locked eyes with him and they moved in pulsating undulations. The hot air was tangible. Their proximity dissipated boundaries. Baekhyun splayed his hand on Chanyeol’s hard chest and Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun towards him with a hand on his ass and with just those small motions, they were kissing._

_The kiss was torrid and uncoordinated. Tongues slipped around lips, licking into receptive mouths. Hands gripped body parts to bring them closer together, still moving with the loud music. Somewhere amid their heated embrace, with very few intelligible words, they came to a mutual understanding that had them racing up the stairs. Catcalls and whistles followed them yet it was hard to hear over the haze of lust._

_Chanyeol gently pushed Baekhyun into the nearest room they came to. It was dimly lit by a lamp on the bedside table, but it was enough for them to find their way onto the bed and continue their lip-locking battle. Baekhyun clawed Chanyeol’s ass, using it to guide the other back so that he could sit on top of the basketball player. He mouthed around the tall boy’s neck, teasingly licking and sucking until he bit down firmly with the intent to leave a mark. Chanyeol seemed to like it if the groan was anything to go by._

_The quickening of their breath could be directly attributed to the way their hips were naturally rocking against each other, increasing the heat and the headiness of the air before it all became too overwhelming to ignore. The kissing stopped as they stripped away clothing as fervently as possible. Once naked, Chanyeol managed to find his way on top again and surprised Baekhyun when he reached into the latter’s jeans pocket to retrieve a condom and packet of lube._

_‘How did you kno-’_

_‘Felt them when I grabbed your arse.’ Chanyeol shrugged. Baekhyun sniggered. He wasn’t exactly embarrassed, at least he was prepared._

_The short moment of amusement was over extremely quickly as soon as Chanyeol opened the lube and put it to use. He squirted some onto Baekhyun’s already quivering entrance and Baekhyun bit down on his bottom lip. Hard. Then he coated his long fingers and began to delve inside. He didn’t seem that experienced but neither was Baekhyun. Either way it didn’t matter because it felt so good to have Chanyeol’s fingers filling him and working the muscle into a pliant, begging hole. Baekhyun was moaning so much he felt his throat going dry. He didn’t even notice when Chanyeol rolled on the condom and used the last of the lube before lining himself up._

_But then Chanyeol pushed in and Baekhyun certainly took note. He cried out with discomfort at first but Chanyeol leaned down to kiss him and distract him. He played with Baekhyun’s length, rubbing his thumb over the slit and making the pre-come drip down. He sucked Baekhyun’s nipples and bit at his neck. Again, Baekhyun was so totally lost in pleasure that they were fucking before he even knew it. But the pleasure only increased and increased._

_He threw his hand back and grabbed the headboard that was now shaking as they moved. His cries came out in screams, gasps and groans of ecstasy that filled the room along with Chanyeol’s guttural moaning. The basketball player showed no mercy as he slammed himself deeper into Baekhyun, pounding with unrelenting exhilaration._

_And then Baekhyun felt it in his lower abdomen, the rising of something indescribable. His body was wrecked, his voice was hoarse and when he came it was the most phenomenal release he had ever experienced. The obscenely erotic feeling of warmth inside him that he knew was Chanyeol filling up the condom with his own essence, tipped him that little bit further over the edge and they collapsed together in a sticky, sweaty mess. It was incredible._

_-_

Chanyeol drove Baekhyun straight back to work as soon as the session was over. He ended up being five minutes late but nobody noticed. Dr Shin had asked a few more questions about them and the beginnings of their relationship but the forty-five minutes was up before they knew it. In the car on the way to Baekhyun’s office building, they’d exchanged agreements on how much they liked Dr Shin and how well they thought the first session went but it was all surface feelings. Once Baekhyun was at his desk, the memory of how he and Chanyeol had first met came back to him with even more clarity and detail.

In the words of Kyungsoo – how the hell did he end up with Chanyeol? The morning after that fateful night, Kyungsoo had lured him out of bed with the smell of hot coffee and immediately started questioning him on what had happened. It was as bizarre to Baekhyun as it was to his friend. He’d barely even acknowledged Chanyeol when they’d been introduced, he hadn’t even given him a second thought as he’d cosied up to the other basketball players and then, all of sudden, he was being fucked into a mattress by the very guy who had given Baekhyun the first impression of ‘awkward and twitchy’.

He’d found out, later on, that it had actually been Minho’s room he and Chanyeol had defiled. Minho couldn’t even pretend to be angry due to how giddy he was over this new ‘relationship’. Baekhyun definitely wouldn’t have called it that at first. He didn’t see or hear from Chanyeol until about two weeks later at a bar in the city. Fortunately for them both, the reunion hadn’t been uncomfortable. They’d talked for a bit, bought each other drinks, exchanged numbers. In the blink of eye, it was two months later and Chanyeol was already a permanent fixture in Baekhyun’s life.

As his mind wandered further, Baekhyun realised it was an awfully long time since he’d last spoken to Minho and even longer still since they’d seen each other in person. It would always be sad to drift away from friends, but he supposed that was just a part of life. Regardless, it was still strange to think that eight years ago, he and Minho had been practically in each other’s pockets. They’d sat next to each other in class, they’d walked to lectures together, they had hung out at parties and clubs… etc. They were really good friends and now, they rarely saw one another.

Impulsively, Baekhyun grabbed his mobile and brought up Minho in his phonebook. He pressed the call button and waited for the dialling tone.

_‘Hey Baekhyun! How’s it going?’_ Came Minho’s cheerful voice.

‘Great, how are you?’

_‘I’m good, I’m really good.’_

‘Listen, I was thinking we should meet up soon and hang out.’ Baekhyun put forth his spontaneous idea.

_‘Yeah, that’d be awesome! I’m not doing anything tomorrow night, do you want go out to eat? I might even treat you.’_ Minho suggested.

Baekhyun chuckled. ‘Well you do still owe me about a thousand drinks from university so yeah, I think that’d be perfect.’

_‘Sweet! Text me your address and I’ll come pick you up. Is seven o’clock alright?’_

‘Absolutely. I’ll see you then.’

_‘See you later, Baek!’_

The call ended and Baekhyun was left with a smile he couldn’t wipe off. He’d forgotten how easy it was to talk to Minho and how he always seemed in a good mood. Now he just couldn’t wait until the following evening.

-

It was lucky that it was Chanyeol’s week with Taehyung since it meant Baekhyun didn’t need to call Kyungsoo and let him know that’d he’d be babysitting. As well as this, he didn’t know why, but he liked that he didn’t have to tell anyone about this date with Minho. Well, it wasn’t a date. They were just friends. It was a friend-date.

He took his time getting ready, using the fancy bubble bath that Luhan had bought him for Christmas and relaxing for what felt like the first time in a while. For the past three quarters of the year, he’d been in a constant state of stress. Sometimes it dialled down, most of the time it intensified. But, as he soaked away in the tub, he found himself thinking that perhaps this was the turning point. Maybe things would finally start to get better.

He was just putting on his boots when the doorbell buzzed from the apartment building entrance, he clicked the receiver and told Minho he’d be right down. A flutter of butterflies swam around his stomach as he quickly made his way outside but as soon as he spotted Minho waiting by the door, his face broke out into a grin and he rushed to hug his friend who he had missed.

‘Wow did you miss me?’ Minho sniggered as he put Baekhyun back down on the floor. He’d never been capable of embracing anyone without lifting them up.

‘Don’t flatter yourself.’ Baekhyun lied and winked.

They got into Minho’s dazzling white BMW and pulled out of the apartment complex. Baekhyun was given the responsibility of choosing where they would be dining that night so he decided upon a restaurant where he’d been planning on organising an employee meeting; if the place was bad, at least he’d know in advance. The journey was swift and soon they were pulling into the restaurant carpark which was quite full.

Baekhyun had heard about this place from a member of the PR team at his company so he was unfazed by the trendy interior and the bar area fit to bursting with people in their late twenties. Minho seemed a little more impressed. He’d used his law degree in the more traditional sense as he was now a solicitor and a successful one at that. Despite the busyness of the restaurant, there were luckily still some tables available and they were shown to one in a corner near the toilets. Not ideal but unavoidable.

‘You know I was actually thinking about ringing you last week but you beat me to it.’ Minho laughed.

‘Great minds think alike.’ Baekhyun raised his drink in a toast. ‘How’s work?’

‘I just won a case actually so I guess I’m celebrating.’ Minho then iterated Baekhyun’s toast and they chuckled together. ‘How goes things with you? Still divorced?’

The bluntness of the question made Baekhyun bark a short laugh. ‘Aha… err, well I never was divorced so…’ Minho grinned at him, letting him know that he was only teasing. ‘It’s been… it’s been ok. We’re finally getting somewhere.’

‘So, you think you’ll get back together?’

‘Hm.’ Baekhyun pursed his lips. ‘Unlikely.’

‘Get a divorce then.’

‘Minho!’

‘Sorry, I’ll shut up about it.’ Minho smiled. ‘How’s Taehyung-ah?’

Baekhyun’s demeanour immediately changed at the mention of his son, as it always did. He regaled tales upon tales about how bright and funny his four-year-old was and how he was growing up to be so handsome. Dutifully, Minho listened and laughed at the crazy little boy’s endeavours. Their food arrived in the middle of Baekhyun showing his friend a video of Taehyung dancing to a music video playing on the television.

The rest of their meal was filled with reminiscing their time at university and all the ridiculously wild things they had gotten up to. Minho filled Baekhyun in on some of the fates that had befallen members of the basketball team, for example, Jaehwan had moved to Japan, met the love of his life, got married and spawned four adorable children. Of course, that just led to Baekhyun asking about Minho’s love life and he received a long groan.

‘That’s it. My love life is just a groan.’ Minho deadpanned.

‘Oh, come ooonnn~ Last you told me, you had two girlfriends on the go.’ Baekhyun prompted.

‘Yeah well that blew up in my face didn’t it.’ Minho rolled his eyes. ‘Although the cat fight that followed was pretty entertaining…’

Baekhyun had to click his fingers in front of the other man’s face.

‘What about that guy you were seeing err… what was his name?’

‘Taemin?’

‘That’s it!’ Baekhyun slammed his hand down on the table and nearly knocked over his gin and tonic. Maybe it was time to slow down on the drinks.

‘Aish it just didn’t work out.’ Minho shook his head and started poking the food left on his plate.

‘Why not?’ Baekhyun questioned.

‘Well for one thing, he’s Jongin’s ex.’

‘WHAT?!’ This time, the gin and tonic went toppling over and drenched the entire table. Baekhyun only just managed to catch the glass before it rolled off the table.

‘Woah, shit.’ Minho cried in between laughter as he attempted to dab up the liquid with his napkin. A waiter came over to help them clear up and take away the plates as he tried to suppress his dismay at Baekhyun’s carelessness.

‘Sorry about that but explain. Now.’ Baekhyun demanded as soon as the table was set to rights.

‘Alright, alright. Well I already knew that Taemin had gone to the same university as Jongin and Sehun but I didn’t find out that he and Jongin had been seeing each other until he was showing me some old photos and I noticed a familiar face cropping up in a lot of them.’ Minho explained.

‘Ooh…’ Baekhyun nodded. ‘Weird. I wonder if Kyungsoo knows.’

‘I wouldn’t tell him.’ Minho interjected the line of thought.

‘Yeah, probably not.’ Baekhyun shuddered. They looked at each other and laughed.

They shared a large slice of chocolate cake and decided that there was really no harm in Baekhyun having another drink, he was just excitable not drunk. Minho got himself a coffee to counter balance the pint of lager he’d had before, ensuring that it would be safe for him to drive Baekhyun home. They talked more about Kyungsoo and Jongin for a while but as the last piece of cake found its way into Baekhyun’s mouth, the conversation returned to the separation and to Chanyeol.

‘You know I just never thought he’d do something like cheat. He’s an enormous uncoordinated puppy not a cheater.’ Minho voiced to which Baekhyun could only shrug.

‘I didn’t think he would either but here we are.’

‘I remember how smitten he was when you finally got together. He was absolutely head over heels. Couldn’t go through basketball practise without mentioning you at least five times. We were all pretty relieved when the honeymoon period died down.’ Minho shook his head fondly.

‘Well how do you think I felt with the million texts he’d send me every day and all the times he’d just _happen_ to bump into me around campus. You can’t coincidentally run into someone more than ten times in one day.’ Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

‘You were just as bad you know!’ Minho insisted.

Baekhyun scoffed. ‘I absolutely was not.’

‘Oh, yes you were! You were twice as loud as the cheerleaders at the matches and you always ran off to meet up with him after class instead of walking with me. Plus, coincidentally or not, whenever he did bump into you, you’d go completely pink and turn into the biggest mushy idiot.’ Minho laughed at Baekhyun’s affronted expression. ‘You loved him just as much as he loved you and you can’t even try to deny that.’

Baekhyun was suitably stumped for a good response to that. If there was one thing he hated more than thinking about what Chanyeol had done to him, it was thinking about how good their relationship used to be. For the most part, he had locked away any happy memories, or twisted them by remembering only the negative points. But things still crept into his mind every now and again and the anguish that came with them was met with annoyance at himself for it. He elected not to think about memories with Chanyeol to avoid conflicted feelings that might weaken his resolve.

‘That was then and this is now.’ Baekhyun eventually muttered, downing the rest of his drink. Minho regarded him for a few moments in thought.

‘I guess you’re right. Times have changed.’ He agreed. ‘Shall we get going?’

They got up from the table and Baekhyun was abruptly alerted to how much he needed the toilet. He left Minho and ran off to relieve himself but was quite annoyed when he came back and discovered that his friend had paid for the entire dinner. Minho didn’t even give him the chance to argue back. He helped Baekhyun into his coat and went to hold open the door for him. The restaurant faded away into the distance as they drove back to Baekhyun’s apartment.

‘Want to come inside for a while?’ Baekhyun asked once the car had come to a stop.

‘Sure!’ Minho replied.

His apartment was never untidy, if there was ever any clutter it didn’t stay there for long yet Baekhyun automatically began chivvying around at mess that wasn’t there as soon as he and Minho stepped through the threshold. Minho sat himself down on the sofa and took a look at his surroundings. When Baekhyun joined him, it was with an almost empty bottle of whisky.

‘I know you’re driving but I thought I’d ask anyway. Drink?’

Minho let out a short surprised laugh. ‘Why not. One won’t hurt.’ He grinned. Baekhyun poured them out a measure each into glasses with which they then clinked together.

‘When was the last time we drank together?’ Baekhyun mused.

‘Ooh must be about a year ago now.’ Minho whistled in bemusement.

‘Yes, I remember it must have been because it was only a few days after then that Sehun and Luhan got engaged.’ Baekhyun concurred. ‘Wow… so much has happened since then.’

‘Indeed, it has.’ Minho raised his glass before taking another sip.

‘When we were at university, did you ever think things would turn out this way?’

‘Of course not. I thought we’d be married with three children by now.’ Minho replied and Baekhyun was stunned, firstly because his question had been more of a rhetorical wondering and secondly because-

‘You thought we would be _married_?! When? What?’ He questioned. Minho laughed.

‘Yeah I had it all planned out.’ He began. ‘I’d ask you to marry me on the night of graduation, we’d run away to Thailand for a year abroad then come home and have the wedding. After that it would only be a matter of time before we started popping out kids.’

Baekhyun was speechless. He stared at Minho in complete disbelief but with a small smile on his face that wanted to tease his friend for being such a weirdo. Minho continued to sip his drink, looking the picture of innocence as if he hadn’t just spewed the most ridiculous, hypothetical love story.

‘Oh, come on, you did _not_ think you were going to ask me to marry you!’ Baekhyun cried incredulously.

‘I most certainly did.’ Minho defied.

‘Pfft alright.’ Baekhyun rolled his eyes and finished off his whisky.

‘Fine, don’t believe me but I swear, before Chanyeol came along, I’d been trying for weeks to figure out a way to ask you out.’

The air grew thick at Minho’s words. Baekhyun gently set down his glass and turned back to his friend with apprehension making his eyebrows furrow and a prickle run down his spine. He locked eyes with Minho, searching his expression to find the truth in what he was saying but it only made it more unsettling when he realised that there was no hint of a lie. Minho was being completely honest. Suddenly, Baekhyun became aware of how closely they were sat on the sofa together and that it had now been some time since anyone spoke.

Minho leant in first. He hesitated just short of Baekhyun’s face as the other still had his eyes wide open but Minho continued and pressed their lips together softly. After a split second, Baekhyun gasped and pulled back. He stared at Minho, unable to comprehend what was happening. But without his brain working normally and the palpable tension stirring between them, Baekhyun found himself reconnecting their embrace with more fervour.

He heard Minho’s glass drop onto the carpet and the next thing he knew, there was a hand on his thigh and one on the back of his neck. Baekhyun was swept up in the kiss, only allowing himself to feel instead of think. Minho kissed like a starving man eating his first meal in years. His movements were sloppy but passionate, he couldn’t make his mind up what to do, where to press his tongue, how much pressure to use. Baekhyun simply took all he could get. The strange, unprecedented nature of it made him too startled to wonder what this meant.

*ring ring*

Baekhyun broke away but Minho immediately reinitiated the contact, leaning further into Baekhyun that he had to lie back in order to make the position less awkward.

*ring ring*

Minho grunted under his breath and bit down on Baekhyun’s bottom lip to prevent him from breaking away again.

*ring ring*

‘Let me just… aah, see who it is.’ Baekhyun murmured breathily, manoeuvring Minho to his neck so that the latter’s overactive mouth would still have something to latch onto. He flung out his hand to the coffee table where his vintage telephone sat. He grabbed the receiver and put it to his ear. ‘Hello?’

Minho abruptly collided their lips once again with a breath-taking force.

‘ _Baekhyun?’_

‘SHIT!’ At Chanyeol’s voice, Baekhyun dropped the phone and shoved Minho off him who was disgruntled to say the least.

‘What the hell, Baek?’

‘It’s Chanyeol, you idiot.’ Baekhyun hissed, picking up the receiver again and covering the mouthpiece. ‘Just be quiet for a second.

‘ _Baek? Baekhyun, are you alright?’_

‘Err yes, yeah, sorry I, um, stubbed my toe.’ Baekhyun scrambled for words. ‘What’s up?’

‘ _Ouch.’_ Chanyeol replied sympathetically. ‘ _Sorry, I know it’s late but I thought I should tell you that Taehyung’s got a fever.’_

‘What?! Is he ok? How bad is it? What’s his temperature?’ Baekhyun shuddered with panic but Chanyeol chuckled.

_‘He’s fine, I’ve given him some medicine and put him back to bed. He’ll have to stay off school tomorrow, though, I’m sure.’_

‘Well I’ll come round and look after him.’ Baekhyun decided with finality.

_‘You don’t have to do that, I’ll stay off with him. I’m not on call tomorrow so it doesn’t really matter if I miss a day.’_

‘Yes but-’ Baekhyun only just managed to stifled a yelp when Minho suddenly crept a finger into his jeans’ waistband and pulled him back towards the sofa. Baekhyun gave him a look that said ‘fuck off’ but Minho ignored it and lowered his head to trail kisses around the other’s stomach.

_‘Come after you’ve finished work. I’ll make dinner.’_ Chanyeol suggested.

‘Err… ok, yes. I suppose tha- ah!’

_‘Baek?’_

Minho had had the nerve to start massaging around Baekhyun’s crotch and with one well-placed squeeze, Baekhyun had felt a ripple of arousal that voiced itself without restraint. He pushed Minho’s head back and walked around the coffee table, out of reach of prying hands.

_‘Are you ok? You sound… weird.’_

‘No, no, I’m fine. Really. Just the err… toe.’ He stammered.

_‘Right…’_

‘I’ll call you tomorrow, ok?’

_‘Yeah, ok, speak to you tomorrow.’_

‘Bye!’ Baekhyun slammed down the telephone and rounded on Minho with narrowed eyes.

‘Everything alright?’ Minho asked nonchalantly, leaning back into the sofa cushions with a superior air about him.

‘Everything alri- Minho! That was Chanyeol calling to tell me that my son is poorly and you were… you were…’ Flustered, Baekhyun threw his hands up, one going to his forehead to rub the ache beginning to grow there.

‘Ok, I’m sorry I…’ Minho stalled before getting up and going over to Baekhyun. He squeezed the latter’s shoulder comfortingly. ‘When we arranged to meet up, none of what just happened ever entered my mind but it’s, you know, it’s talking about university and life and everything… You’re the one that got away and I just had to see…’

Baekhyun stopped him, raising a couple of fingers to command silence.

‘This is a lot… I don’t know where my head is at right now.’

‘I understand.’ Minho nodded. ‘Really, I do.’

‘I need some time to process.’ Baekhyun chewed his bottom lip.

‘Don’t do that.’ Smiling, Minho brushed the lip with one finger and suddenly Baekhyun was hit with a flashback of all the times in class when he had been lost in thought or concentrating immensely on the work that he’d chew on his lip without realising it. Minho would notice and always stick out a finger to stop him.

‘Let’s meet up again when I’m not worrying about Taehyung.’ Baekhyun proposed.

‘Alright, sounds good to me.’ Minho agreed. He gathered his things together and put on his jacket to tuck his phone and wallet into the pockets, leaving out his car keys. Baekhyun waited by the door, hugging his arms around himself to shield away his fretting rather than the cold. Minho gave him a hug goodbye and left, leaving the lonely apartment even lonelier still.

-

Baekhyun did not wake up to his alarm the next morning. He groggily slipped out of dreamland and scratched his nose before realising that the phone was ringing. With a loud curse, he threw himself out of bed, swayed a little from the head rush then stumbled into the living room where he’d left his mobile. He didn’t make it in time before it rang off but, as it reverted to the home screen, it told him he had two missed calls from Chanyeol and that he was going to be late for work. He picked up the device and rang back Chanyeol, already resigning himself to a late start at the office.

_‘Finally awake?’_ Chanyeol greeted him. Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

‘Mm yes. How’s Taehyung?’

_‘His fever broke in the night so he’s passed the worst of it but he didn’t even want me to read the dinosaur book so he’s definitely poorly.’_

‘Wow.’ Baekhyun concurred and then pouted. ‘Poor Taebaby.’

_‘Yeah, anyway, how are **you** feeling? You’re never late for work.’ _Chanyeol inquired.

‘Oh err, I’m fine.’ Baekhyun replied in a fluster. Memories from the night before were choosing to become more vivid by the second.

_‘Toe hasn’t fallen off?’_

‘…huh?’

_‘You stubbed your toe.’_

‘OH!’ Baekhyun exclaimed. ‘Oh. No, it’s fine. I’m fine. How are you?’

Chanyeol laughed at him. _‘I’m great. You’re still coming round after work, yeah?’_

‘Of course.’ Baekhyun said, not fully paying attention, having stared at the sofa for so long he could see himself there with Minho last night.

_‘Alright then. See you later.’_

‘Yeah…’ Baekhyun replied dazedly, noticing Minho’s discarded glass on the floor. ‘Um I mean, yes, see you later.’ Chanyeol gave another little chuckle and hung up the connection. Baekhyun tossed his phone onto the armchair and went to pick up the glass. He knelt there, thinking.

How had he never found out that Minho liked him? They’d been good friends, shared three years of classes together as well as plenty of other secrets. Why not this? Was it just Baekhyun being oblivious or was everything Minho said last night a whole load of bullshit? He could quite easily have spun that entire story just to get into Baekhyun’s pants; Baekhyun had seen him do it to plenty of other people. On the other hand, he’d backed off when Baekhyun told him to and Minho was many things but a scumbag wasn’t one of them. At least, not while Baekhyun had known him.

He got up from the floor and meandered into the kitchen but a quick glance at the clock on the oven and he was cursing loudly once again. In a frenzy, Baekhyun raced to his laptop, pulled up his working schedule and hacked into it so that it would say he was working from home. His coordinator never usually checked but knowing his luck, this would be the one day that that she did. The only slight downfall to this spontaneous plan was that all his paperwork was in his office, it would set him back a day or so next week but he’d handled worse pressure than this before. He could pull it off… hopefully.

The fretting was very easily forgotten once he got into the shower and the hot water rolled over his body. Now that he had time on his hands, he stayed in for an extra five minutes and it was heavenly, almost sending him back to sleep. If it weren’t for his rumbling stomach, he might have indulged even further. Shower done, dressing gown on, Baekhyun went back to the kitchen and pulled out a few things to make breakfast. As it cooked, he went back to his phone and checked to see if there were any emails from his boss but thankfully, there were none.

He set about filtering through the usual junk whilst wolfing down his scrambled eggs. It was the usual story: employee complaints, appeals for time off, inane questions about customer relations that just proved how paranoid people were about getting sued. He tutted when he saw such an email from a member of staff that was notorious for putting his foot in his mouth. However, in the split second between Baekhyun seeing it and going to press delete, his eggs decided to revolt.

Baekhyun’s hand flew up to his mouth that was unpleasantly filling with saliva, another to his stomach that gurgled. He really thought he was going to hurl and quickly got up from the table. The action initiated what he thought was a retch and he leapt towards the sink… only to relinquish an appalling burp. His stomach ache dissipated pretty quickly after that. Baekhyun laughed, shaking his head as he sat back down at the table. He supposed that was the result of rushing around in a panic as soon as he woke up.

With the rest of his day now more or less free, Baekhyun decided he could allow himself some time to laze around on the sofa. So, once he’d finished his breakfast, he settled himself down to watch whatever nonsense was on television at that time of the morning. He became aware, after a while, that the nauseas feeling from before hadn’t really gone away. It was persisting as a stomach ache that Baekhyun rubbed from discomfort. He wouldn’t have said he was drunk last night but perhaps the mixture of gin and whiskey hadn’t been a good idea.

Baekhyun ruminated on his hangover for a while before realising that there was really no point in sitting in front of the tv when he wasn’t watching it anyway. He switched it off and got up to get dressed, pondering on what he could do with his day. He had the habit of always remembering things that needed to be done when he was too busy to sort them out and if he _did_ remember when he had time, he’d put whatever it was off anyway. As he pulled on a pair of jeans, he recalled the nightlight in Taehyung’s room that had broken a few weeks ago but, true to form, immediately came up with an excuse not to fix it.

He found himself going in Taehyung’s room anyway. It was little more than a box, a far cry from the cosy, brightly coloured room he had at the house. Unfortunately, it was all the small apartment had to offer. Taehyung never complained but Baekhyun hated feeling like he was dragging his son through the rough just for his own stupid pride. It was true though. He knew it. No matter what had happened between him and Chanyeol, Taehyung was the one suffering the most.

-

_‘Look, Tae, I’ve put all your soft toys next to your pillow.’ Baekhyun guided his sleepy child into the small room. He’d done his best to make up Taehyung’s bed as comfy and inviting as could be while the walls were bare and a large proportion of the floor space was occupied by cardboard boxes._

_‘Where’s Stitch?’_

_‘Well I thought you could keep him at the house.’ He quickly assured._

_‘B-but…’ Taehyung blinked up at him in such innocent confusion that it was only through sheer force of will that Baekhyun did not break down right there and then._

_‘I’m sorry, Taebaby. Perhaps next week you can get Stitch and bring him here.’ He suggested and ushered his son along to the bed and helped him to get under the covers. Once Taehyung was settled, Baekhyun perched beside him and pat his chest gently._

_‘Why in a week?’_

_Baekhyun sighed, holding back his frustration. ‘I told you before, didn’t I? You’re going to live here for one week with me and then live back at home with Daddy for a week and then the whole thing all over again.’ He smiled as he tried to make light of the situation. Taehyung seemed to digest this for a while._

_‘Is Daddy not your friend anymore?’_

_‘Um…’ Baekhyun hedged, caught a little off guard. ‘We’re still friends. We just don’t want to live in the same house anymore. That’s all.’_

_Taehyung was a clever little boy and Baekhyun had never tried to overly sugar-coat things for him which was why it was easy to see that the three-year-old knew Baekhyun meant more than what he was saying. His face was scrunched up in a frown as he tried with all his might to understand what was going on. But, in the end, he was little more than a toddler and couldn’t be expected to fully comprehend what was going on. So, he just cried._

_‘Oh Tae, don’t cry.’ Baekhyun immediately welled up himself as tears began to roll down Taehyung’s cheeks and his bottom lip quivered. The tiny room soon filled with the sound of wailing. Baekhyun reached down and bundled Taehyung up into his arms so that he could rock him back and forth soothingly. ‘Shhh, it’s alright. Shhh. I promise it’s going be ok.’_

_As he whispered the words, his voice cracking, Baekhyun found it hard to muster the conviction he needed to convince himself of what he was saying but he hoped that it was enough for Taehyung. He continued to rock the boy slowly, hushing his heart breaking cries, until Taehyung eventually wore himself out and fell asleep. Baekhyun lowered him back beneath the covers and wiped his face of the tears. He got up and turned off the lamp, leaving only the soft blue glow of the nightlight shining. He left the room quietly and, quieter still, shut the door. But as soon as it was closed, he collapsed beside it and silently screamed. His own tears falling like rivers._

_-_

‘Feels strange to be here on a Thursday.’ Baekhyun commented, stepping into the house. Chanyeol chuckled as he led the way into the kitchen.

‘I’m making pasta, hope that’s alright.’ No sooner did he say it, did Baekhyun’s nostrils alight with the pleasant aroma of garlic, herbs and tomatoes.

‘That’s great!’ He smiled. ‘How’s Taehyung?’

‘He’s doing alright. His temperature was down the last time I checked but he does have a nasty little cough.’ Chanyeol relayed as he stirred something on the stove. ‘I reckon he picked up a bug at school. Would make sense now he’s started playing with Jimin and some of his other classmates more often.’

‘Ah yes, that’s true.’

‘He’s in the living room watching Alice In Wonderland at the moment.’ Chanyeol suddenly appeared in front of Baekhyun with one of Taehyung’s beaker cups full of juice. Baekhyun smirked and took the hint. He took the beaker and headed into the living room where he found Taehyung all wrapped up in his poorly blanket, clutching onto his Stitch toy and sucking his thumb.

‘Hey baby.’ He greeted and sat down next to him.

‘Umma!’ Taehyung croaked and tried to stretch out towards Baekhyun but he was extremely well cocooned in his blanket and cushions. Instead, Baekhyun snuggled in closer and wrapped his arm around his baby as he handed him the cup of juice.

‘Bet you’ve had a fun day off from school.’ He grinned at Taehyung and Taehyung grinned back.

‘Daddy made me pumpkin porridge.’

‘Ooh that’s nice.’ Baekhyun cooed but his face fell slightly when Taehyung broke off into a chesty cough. He stroked the four year old’s feathery hair and then leant down to kiss his forehead.

‘Dinner shouldn’t be long now.’ Chanyeol announced as he came into the room. He settled into the sofa on the other side of Taehyung, automatically extending his arm to curl around his son but jumped when he came into contact with Baekhyun’s arm.

Baekhyun kept his eyes fixed on the television, not reacting to what had happened. As such, Chanyeol merely relaxed back again and leant his appendage up along the back of the sofa, effectively encircling them all. He began watching the film just as Baekhyun was studiously doing, neither acknowledging the small smiles on each of their faces. Taehyung never noticed a thing.

Soon Chanyeol got back up again to serve their dinner. Baekhyun picked up Taehyung out of his blankety nest and carried him to the dining room where a warm and welcoming spread had been laid out, candles and all. The food looked delicious and Baekhyun’s stomach rumbled in anticipation. Chanyeol always used to cook for them; It was something he’d never fully appreciated if he was being completely honest with himself.

‘This looks incredible.’ He exclaimed before he could second guess himself but was rewarded with a winning smile.

‘Dig in.’ Chanyeol replied.

There was a bottle of red wine sat temptingly between them on the table. It was only a question of who would make that call to lower their inhibitions. Baekhyun knew if he picked it up, Chanyeol would read into it. However, if he avoided it, that would look bad as well. His brain became so preoccupied with such a trivial little thing that his next mouthful of spaghetti went very haphazardly towards his mouth and covered his entire chin with tomato sauce.

‘Oh…’ Baekhyun swallowed quickly and put down his fork. Chanyeol looked up and burst into laughter when he caught sight of the mess. Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

‘Umma?’ Taehyung asked in confusion. On a whim, Baekhyun broke a breadstick in half and stuck the pieces under his top lip.

‘Look Tae, I’m a vampire.’ He mumbled around the bread. Taehyung squealed laughing and Chanyeol broke off again into more sniggers. The pieces of breadstick dropped out of his mouth as Baekhyun joined in as well.

After dinner, which continued to be cheerful, Taehyung started dozing off. Baekhyun bundled him into his arms and took him upstairs. They stopped by the bathroom so that he could brush his teeth but then it was straight to bed with another dose of medicine. Baekhyun stayed in the room, gently carding his fingers through Taehyung’s hair until the small boy fell sound asleep. Then he pressed a kiss to his head and quietly got up. He nearly jumped out of his skin, however, when he turned around and caught Chanyeol leaning against the doorframe.

‘Sorry.’ Chanyeol whispered apologetically. Baekhyun clutched a hand to his racing heart and smiled despite himself. He tiptoed out of the room and closed the door.

‘I hope he feels better tomorrow.’ He murmured as they began heading back downstairs.

‘I’m sure he will.’ Chanyeol reassured. He led them into the dimly lit living room and they dropped down onto the sofa in unison. ‘More wine?’

‘I better not, I still have to drive back to my apartment.’ Baekhyun declined. The peacefulness of the evening surpassed any awkwardness that might have occurred when they descended into silence. It was only for a brief moment anyhow.

‘I’m really glad you came round tonight.’ Chanyeol said in his deep rumble.

Baekhyun’s breathing faltered. ‘Yes... I’m glad I did too.’

‘It felt like old times.’ A pause. ‘Ooh! Speaking of…’ Chanyeol suddenly started rummaging in his pocket and soon produced his phone. He tapped a few things until he found what he was looking for then handed the device to Baekhyun. ‘It’s five years ago today that that picture was taken.’

Baekhyun studied the photograph he was being shown and a grin spread across his face. He was in the middle with his t-shirt being lifted up by Chanyeol on his left. The big idiot was smiling like a lunatic and pointing at Baekhyun’s stomach, a direct contrast to Kyungsoo on Baekhyun’s other side that was purposefully putting on one hell of a stony bitch-face, as was his signature in any group photo. Behind Kyungsoo was a leering Jongin holding up a piece of paper that had the word ‘fatty’ written on it and an arrow pointing to Baekhyun.

‘That was the day you made Jongin cry.’ Chanyeol commented with a snicker.

‘Kneeing him in the balls _was_ an accident but he did deserve it for that stupid sign.’ Baekhyun grumbled but his smile soon returned as he continued to look at the photo. It had been taken with an old camera so they were all grainy and overexposed, adding to the character.

‘I can’t believe Taehyung used to fit in there.’ Chanyeol poked the screen and then, for good measure, poked Baekhyun’s stomach. Baekhyun wriggled involuntarily.

‘Stop, you know I’m ticklish.’ He muttered as he locked the phone, realising only too late that that was the wrong thing to say. Sure enough, the next thing he knew, Chanyeol’s fingers were tickling into his ribs and making him squirm. ‘Stop!!’ He squeaked through the laughter.

‘Say the magic words.’ Chanyeol insisted, still managing his onslaught as Baekhyun tried to crawl away.

‘No!’ Baekhyun defied despite his predicament.

‘Say it!’ The tickles got worse.

Baekhyun attempted to deter Chanyeol by stretching his leg up and batting the other’s face but he was ruthless.

‘Say it, say it!

‘Fine!!’ Baekhyun finally gave in with a huff. ‘Chanyeol is the king.’

‘Aaand?’

‘And… a sex god.’ He mumbled, covering his face with his hands.

‘Thank you.’ Chanyeol smugly replied and sat back from Baekhyun who was lying half on the sofa, half off the sofa with his leg in the air and a cushion falling onto his head. He huffed again as he righted himself.

‘I thought you’d learned your lesson about tickling when Taehyung _was_ in there and you made me pee my pants.’ Baekhyun raised his eyebrows pointedly.

‘Oh god, yeah.’ Chanyeol laughed as he remembered but it was unfortunately infectious and Baekhyun ended up laughing along with him.

When it died down, they were in comfortable silence once again. They were now sitting closer together since the tickling and the proximity increased in its tangibility. Tension was rising that Baekhyun tried to ignore. His brain was racing for something he could say that would start up conversation once again but he was still reminiscing about the photograph and subconsciously rubbing his stomach because of it. Had it really been five years already?

‘I can make you a hot drink instead if you like?’ Chanyeol suggested and Baekhyun smiled.

‘Tea would be great.’

Chanyeol hopped up and went off into the kitchen, the sounds of mugs and boiling water reached Baekhyun a minute or so later. He sighed contentedly, looking around the familiar room. It was mostly decorated in dark blue and mahogany wood that made it feel so warm and calm. Baekhyun surveyed the floor to ceiling bookcases that covered the majority of one wall. There were photos in frames propped on quite a few of the shelves, a lot of them depicting Taehyung. Then something caught his eye.

‘Here you are.’ Chanyeol said as he came in with the tea. ‘What have you got there?’

‘You’ve put me in a nostalgic mood.’ Baekhyun said by way of explanation as he opened up the old photo album he’d found.

‘Oh this should be good.’

They spent the next hour flicking through the entire album, reminiscing with every picture. It started from Chanyeol’s last year at university and finished with the original hard copy of the photo they’d just been looking at. There were so many memories crammed into just over a year: Baekhyun sitting on a pavement, outrageously drunk and clutching onto a pizza box like his life depended on it… Kyungsoo wearing a Santa hat and flipping off the camera… New Year’s Eve fireworks… Chanyeol’s bare bottom sitting on a pile of snow… Baekhyun stuck in a tree trying to rescue a frisbee… Jongin kissing Kyungsoo on the cheek and Kyungsoo flipping off the camera again.

By the time the album came to a close, they were worn out from laughing and filled with sentimentality. Baekhyun got up to put it back where he’d found it. When he turned around, Chanyeol was eyeing him with a strange look on his face and a small smile playing about his lips.

‘What?’

‘Ah nothing.’ Chanyeol deflected.

‘No, tell me.’ Baekhyun wandered closer and playfully nudged him with his toe.

Chanyeol sighed, still smiling. ‘I was just thinking… this is the most fun we’ve had in forever.’

‘Mmm.’ Baekhyun hummed in agreement. ‘It has. But, sadly, I should probably get going.’

‘Aww.’ Chanyeol grumbled though he hauled himself up from the sofa anyway. ‘You could just stay here.’

‘Ha ha, very funny.’

‘I’m serious!’ Chanyeol followed Baekhyun into the hall where the latter was putting on his coat.

‘I have work tomorrow and all my things are at the apartment.’ Baekhyun pointed out. He snorted at Chanyeol’s ridiculous pout. ‘I’ll be back here tomorrow anyway to pick up Taehyung if he’s still off school.’

‘I suppose.’ Chanyeol said with a childish whine.

Baekhyun sniggered at him, shaking his head in equal parts amusement and exasperation. He stared for too long though and something in the air changed. Impulsively, he stepped forwards and kissed Chanyeol on the cheek. They both froze. Chanyeol made a move to pull Baekhyun back in but Baekhyun quickly stepped back, fearful of what might happen. However, there was no awkward sting, merely acceptance. Progression had been made; it was small, but it was enough, for now. They quietly made their way to the front door.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ Baekhyun said.

‘I hope you get back safely.’ Chanyeol replied.

‘Bye.’

‘Bye.’

-

It was astonishing how much work could pile up from just one day away from it. Baekhyun’s entire Friday morning was spent trawling through email after email whilst trying to return as many calls as he could. The only bright spot was when he got a picture message from Chanyeol that read ‘still off school but feeling better’ and showed an image of Taehyung sat on Chanyeol’s shoulders with his arms wrapped around his father’s head. Baekhyun laughed when he noticed Taehyung was wearing his ladybird costume.

A spark of excitement fluttered in his stomach as he thought about going back to the house after work and it wasn’t just because he was picking up Taehyung. He tried to quell the feeling but it wouldn’t leave him and he frowned in annoyance. He was falling into a blindsided trap. Chanyeol was pulling at his old feelings and tricking him into thinking they were still the same people they used to be. But they weren’t and Baekhyun couldn’t afford to be dragged back into something just because it was comfortable.

He was then prompted to think of Minho and a different set of emotions took over. Minho was… different. Different from Chanyeol, yes, but also different from the boy at university Baekhyun remembered. That boy had been his fun-loving, carefree, grasp-life-by-the-horns friend. The guy who sat next to him in lectures and always had a spare pen. Now Minho seemed a little jaded and dark. Baekhyun was still at a total loss for what had happened the other night. His friend’s behaviour had been odd to say the least.

Then again, perhaps Minho had always had that side to him and Baekhyun had never noticed. He certainly never expected Chanyeol to do what he did so it was entirely plausible. Was he too trusting? Too naïve to see what was really going on? There were too many questions in his head now and he didn’t have time to start psycho-analysing himself so he turned back to his report. Of course, the universe had other ideas.

Want to do something this weekend?

-Minho

Baekhyun growled under his breath. He really didn’t want to have to deal with this. All he could feel was resentment now towards someone who he used to call one of his best friends. He ignored the message for a while but then thought about the Chanyeol Trap once again and bit his lip, wrestling with indecision. In the end, he picked up his phone and sent off the reply ‘Let’s have lunch on Monday’ before switching it to do not disturb so that he could finish his report.

-

When Baekhyun left work at five, he noticed it had been raining. The ground was wet but the air was sticky. It made him almost glad to have been cooped up in an office all day that he avoided the worst of the humidity. Summer was approaching. As such, he rolled down all the windows in his car and sped off out of the city to his old house, enjoying the breeze rustling through his hair. The sun was peeking out from the clouds again by the time he arrived.

‘Hey, come in!’ Chanyeol greeted enthusiastically after opening the door.

‘Hi.’ Baekhyun grinned, cursing the way his spirits lifted so instantly.

‘Look what came in the post today.’ Chanyeol brandished something in front of his face until he took hold of it. It was a postcard with a picture of a white sandy beach and on the back, a message from Sehun and Luhan which went mostly along the lines of ‘having a great time, Sehun’s already sunburnt, miss you lots’. There was a small note next to the address that read ‘we couldn’t remember the address of your apartment so we’re sending this to both of you’.

‘If you read between the lines, I think they’ve spent a lot of time in the hotel room.’ Baekhyun said wryly.

It took Chanyeol a minute and then his eyebrows shot up. ‘Well they are on their honeymoon.’ He chuckled.

They migrated to the back garden where Taehyung was rocking gently back and forth on the swing. He waved when he saw them coming outside onto the grass. They left him to it and sat in the small wooden pavilion that shaded them from the bright sunshine. The structure was starting to disappear into the overgrown garden altogether with the amount of creeping plants and weeds that were dominating it. It was pretty though, especially where flowers were sprouting.

‘I think he’s passed it now. Bit of rest and a couple hours outside today was all he needed.’ Chanyeol said, watching Taehyung proudly.

‘Good, I’m glad.’ Baekhyun replied.

It was such a peaceful afternoon. They both slumped back into the bench cushions and breathed in the warm spring air. There were flies and midges floating around the flowerbeds, occasionally a bumblebee hovered along. Taehyung got bored of the swing eventually and started making a daisy chain instead; the tip of his tongue stuck out as he carefully weaved the stems together.

‘Can I ask you something?’ Chanyeol abruptly spoke.

Baekhyun had his eyes closed but he responded, ‘Sure.’

‘Where are we… right now? Are we… are we ok?’

His eyes flew open but he was still fairly calm. Chanyeol’s question wasn’t entirely unprecedented and Baekhyun would have been lying if he said he hadn’t been wondering the same thing.

‘I think we’re still working on it… but, yeah, I think we’re ok.’ He said truthfully. ‘But let’s face it, it’s only been about three weeks since we’ve started talking more and we’ve only been to one therapy session.’

‘I get you.’ Chanyeol nodded. ‘But, I just want to know, should I… can I even dare to hope that maybe one day we might…’ He trailed off.

Baekhyun’s mind raced. He wanted to stay positive, he wanted to keep the friendly atmosphere they now had, he didn’t want to wreck everything while it was all so amicable. But did that mean he had to lie? Did he have to give Chanyeol false hope that if they continued to work through their relationship, that eventually they would get back together in the end? He didn’t want to lie, it would just make things worse in the end. But could he tell Chanyeol what he wanted to hear?

‘I don’t know.’

‘You don’t know?’

‘Yes, I don’t know.’ Baekhyun reiterated. ‘But Chanyeol, I’m not saying that because I’m being indecisive or avoiding the question… I’m saying that because I don’t want to know. I just want to find out.’

Slowly, a smile perked up the corners of Chanyeol’s mouth. ‘I want to find out too.’

‘Now, what are you making for dinner? I haven’t been food shopping in a week and I’m starving.’

Chanyeol burst out laughing.

-

In truth, Baekhyun wasn’t looking forward to lunch with Minho on Monday. He’d picked a restaurant he often went to in his lunch break so he knew he’d enjoy the food and being that it was during the working day, there was a time limit for how long he’d have to spend there. Yes, he felt guilty for feeling this way about Minho but, after their last encounter, he really didn’t know what to expect any more from someone he used to know so well. When he arrived at the restaurant, however, he put on a bright smile and greeted his friend as he normally would.

‘You look great.’ Minho commented.

‘I’ve been at work.’ Baekhyun snorted incredulously. He scanned the menu without fully taking in the words.

A waiter came to take their order, after which they somehow fell into an easy conversation. It was as if nothing had happened and Baekhyun couldn’t be more grateful for that. Putting aside any weirdness between them and moving on would be the perfect scenario, there was no need to perpetuate an awkward atmosphere just for the sake of keeping things transparent. Getting through this lunch without any talk of secret crushes or random kisses was all they needed to get past that strange blip in their relationship from last week.

The duration of the lunch was perfectly normal, they talked about this and that, laughing at each other’s jokes. It was on the journey back to Baekhyun’s office building that things got a little uncomfortable. Walking back there together was weird enough in and of itself since Baekhyun hadn’t asked for an escort and he’d assumed Minho had parked his car by the restaurant. He’d even begun to say goodbye to his friend upon exiting the place but suddenly they were already walking up the road. Standing in the paved courtyard outside of his office block, Baekhyun realised that it was going to be harder to get rid of Minho than he thought.

‘Well, I should really be getting back to my desk.’ He tried.

‘I’m sure they can spare you a few minutes.’ Minho chuckled lightly but Baekhyun didn’t return his smile. ‘I was thinking you should come over to mine one night. I’ll make food.’ His tone was friendly but his demeanour suggested otherwise.

‘Err yeah, that’d be fun.’ Baekhyun swallowed thickly. He knew there was probably a frown on his face but Minho didn’t seem to notice. ‘I’ll um text you when I’m free.’

‘What are you doing tomorrow?’

Baekhyun eyes widened in alarm. ‘Err, I, well I don’t know.’

‘You should come over tomorrow. Just text me to tell me what food I should make.’ Minho still had that menacing grin on his face. Abruptly, Baekhyun’s phone went off in his bag and it jolted his brain to work at a quicker speed.

‘Listen, I’ve really got to get back to work and I can’t come over tomorrow because of Taehyung. I’m sorry but I will let you know if I’m free at any point.’ He said and started to move towards his building. Minho opened his mouth to say something else but was cut off when Jongdae suddenly appeared and spotted Baekhyun.

‘Oh, hey Baek! You heading up?’ He asked.

‘Err, yeah, yes. I’ll just be a couple of minutes.’ Baekhyun assured him.

‘Don’t be long! Apparently one of the tv presenters has kicked off with the boss.’ Jongdae snickered as he walked backwards in the vague direction of the entrance. ‘It’s going to be carnage up there!’ He span around and jogged the rest of the way inside.

‘Who’s that?’ Minho promptly asked. Baekhyun jumped out of his skin as he looked back to his friend and realised how close the latter had gotten to him. He widened their proximity whilst regaining his composure.

‘That’s Jongdae, he works in marketing.’

‘So, you’re friends?’ Minho pressed.

Baekhyun frowned. ‘Yeah… I don’t get wha-’

‘Ok, cool. Well, I should let you get back to work.’ Minho said, his tone changing dramatically. There was still something very unsettling in his eyes. Baekhyun couldn’t be more confused.

‘Right… yeah. Um, ok.’ He murmured. Minho squeezed his arm and began walking away.

‘See you soon!’ He called back.

‘Err sure, yeah, see you.’ Baekhyun replied the best he could. The walk into the building was a slow and dazed one but once Jongdae found him and distracted him with the chaos ensuing on one of the sound stages, he quickly forgot about what had gone on outside.

-

In the weeks that followed, Baekhyun’s life seemed to level out to a new state of normalcy. It didn’t greatly differ from what it had been before but there was the addition of therapy sessions with Chanyeol and the occasional lunch with Minho. He’d even begrudgingly agreed to visiting Minho at his apartment where the latter made an ad hoc dinner for them that was burnt around the edges. Baekhyun had been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt but when Minho suggested they put on a film, he rapidly made his excuses and left.

He hadn’t told Kyungsoo or anyone else about his little meetups with Minho. Jongdae knew but he never asked about it. Unfortunately, having no one to discuss it with, he spent far too much time preoccupying his brain with a myriad of questions. ‘Why didn’t he want anyone to know’ being the front runner, which led to – what was holding him back from starting something with Minho and if the answer to that was Chanyeol then why wasn’t he doing anything about it?

Often, the concerns overwhelmed him and he felt sick to the stomach. That hadn’t been pleasant when he managed to contract whatever virus Taehyung had had. He spent about a week refusing to acknowledge he was ill until he fainted at work and was sent home. Chanyeol had rushed over, of course, with containers full of food and a cocktail of pain relief medication. Baekhyun accepted his fussing purely on the basis that it meant he didn’t have to cook for himself or leave his bed.

After the therapy session on that particular week, however, new tensions stirred due to Dr Shin asking them about another time they had fallen out in the past and old wounds were pressed. Their relationship had occasionally been tested by disagreements and senseless bickering but there had been one incident specifically that stood out in both of their minds as one of the worst arguments they’d ever had before the separation.

_Baekhyun scrubbed at his eyes and yawned but didn’t stop skimming through the contract on his laptop screen. His back ached from being slouched on the bed for so long. Chanyeol came into the room looking equally worn out and flung himself down onto the mattress with a groan. Baekhyun grunted back as the motion made his laptop slip around. They were still on slightly icy terms since the fight they’d had that morning and tiredness wasn’t helping it any._

_‘He’s finally asleep.’ Chanyeol mumbled into the pillows._

_‘Mmhmm.’ Baekhyun was barely listening, he was trying to make amendments to a subsection. Chanyeol rolled over and began making himself comfortable for sleep. The fidgeting around was annoying but Baekhyun studiously ignored it._

_‘How long are you staying up for?’_

_‘Don’t know.’_

_Pause._

_‘Can I turn the lamp off?’_

_‘If you want.’_

_Pause._

_‘Are you-’_

_‘Chanyeol.’ Baekhyun growled._

_‘Sorry, I just wondered if it might be easier if you go to your study?’_

_‘Easier for you, you mean.’_

_‘Oh, come on, that’s not fair! This is the bedroom. For sleeping. And you’re not sleeping.’_

_‘Look, I just have to get to the end of this section and then I’m done.’_

_‘Fine.’ Chanyeol conceded and the argument seemed to be over. Baekhyun continued reading, almost grateful that the small row had woken him up. As he moved on to another paragraph, he did not anticipate the hand that stroked over his stomach and tried to pull him closer to the big idiot next to him._

_‘What are you doing?’ He questioned. Chanyeol didn’t answer and instead pressed a kiss to Baekhyun’s neck. ‘Chanyeol.’ The kisses trailed along his collar bone. ‘Stop it.’ Chanyeol’s tongue swept out and licked the dip in his clavicle. ‘Chanyeol, get off!’ Baekhyun shoved the other boy away._

_‘What the hell?!’_

_‘I’m not in the mood.’_

_‘But Baek it’s been almost a month since we last had sex and you’re clearly stressed out. Why not take a break?’_

_‘Because I have **work** to do, alright?’ _

_‘Yeah and it’s 1am!’_

_‘Urgh!!’ Baekhyun cried out in frustration and got up out of bed._

_‘Where are you going?’ Chanyeol’s tone had lowered to a threatening level._

_‘Downstairs. To the fucking study.’ Baekhyun snapped back. He snatched his dressing gown and threw it on in a far more aggressive manner than what was required._

_‘Oh, for fucks sake.’ Chanyeol griped._

_‘What? I thought this was what you wanted?’_

_‘Believe me, **none** of this is what I want.’ _

_Baekhyun reeled back from the sting of what Chanyeol said. There was something off in his voice that made it sound like he was talking about a lot more than just the present situation._

_‘Well it’s nice to know how you feel.’ He bit his lip when his throat tensed up. Chanyeol eyed him warily but eventually tuned into where Baekhyun’s brain was heading._

_‘That’s not what I meant.’ He said quickly and rose from the bed. ‘Baek. Seriously. Don’t blow this out of proportion.’_

_Baekhyun was quiet for a few moments while Chanyeol watched him as if he were a ticking mine. Then the bomb went off._

_‘I heard you telling Jongin how much you wanted to travel the world and do all these things after graduation but you couldn’t because of me and Taehyung! I know deep down you think that having a baby ruined your life!! It was written all over your face! How I am supposed to live with myself knowing I’m just this burden that you got stuck with?!!’_

_‘You’re not a burden!!’ Chanyeol yelled back. ‘And having Taehyung was the best thing that ever happened to me aside from marrying you!’_

_‘Don’t avoid it. Don’t deny what you said to Jongin. I know what you said!!’_

_‘Baekhyun, please…_

_‘You said you could have achieved so much more with your life if we had never had Taehyung!’_

_Silence swallowed the room. Baekhyun was shaking with anger, sadness and exhaustion._

_‘Listen, just let me explain.’ Chanyeol tried._

_‘No! You said what you said and there’s no taking it back.’_

_‘Baekhyun! Listen to me!!’_

_It could have been caused by the shouting or just bad timing but that’s when Taehyung started wailing. Baekhyun collapsed into a crouched position as his heart lurched painfully. He covered his face with his hands, taking in shallow breaths. Crying wasn’t going to solve anything now but it was getting too hard to keep control. Chanyeol immediately darted out of the room to see to Taehyung, however, when he returned, after making sure the teething toddler was asleep once again, he was shocked to find the bedroom empty._

_Baekhyun had retreated to the spare room which he’d locked himself inside of. He crawled into the cold sheets and wiped his streaming eyes as he tried to stop his breathing from shuddering. Despite the anguish still churning his stomach, it didn’t take him long to drift off to sleep. His dreams weren’t pleasant._

He didn’t often think about that night but when he did it always made him shudder; mainly from regret. After the shouting match, they barely spoke to each other for a week. Or at least, Baekhyun refused to speak to Chanyeol unless absolutely necessary. However, when he finally gave in and let Chanyeol explain himself he had felt woefully remorseful. The same words Chanyeol had said were what he then related to the therapist – that when he told Jongin how he could have achieved so much more, he was merely stating the obvious. He didn’t begrudge anything that had happened in his life thus far and yes, starting a family so young had hindered his previous dreams to go travelling but they had been replaced by new dreams, new goals that he only wanted to achieve with Baekhyun and Taehyung beside him.

-

While Taehyung ate his cereal on Monday morning, Baekhyun received two text messages of note. The first was from Kyungsoo and appeared to be a mass group message as it sent details of a party he and Jongin were having that Saturday. Baekhyun had already heard about it from Kyungsoo a while ago but it served as a reminder that he was supposed to collect the pop-up gazebo from his parents’ house. The second text was from Minho and a lot weirder in content.

Your clients from Friday were getting very friendly with you

Baekhyun frowned so hard he gave himself a headache. He briefly looked up at Taehyung who had three cheerios stuck to his face then began typing.

How do you know I was entertaining clients on Friday?

He didn’t have to wait long for a reply.

I was in the area. You should be careful, they might get the wrong idea

Now Baekhyun was pissed off.

Minho I’ve known them for a long time and it’s my job to be friendly. It’s none of your business either!

He was surprised but glad when Minho didn’t reply again and he could finish getting ready for work in peace. After dropping Taehyung off at school and crawling through the morning traffic, the text exchange was pushed out of his mind. When he arrived at his office, however, things took a turn for the worst. The first red flag was the sight of Jongdae hanging around on his floor. Jongdae worked in marketing… three floors below.

‘Jongdae?’ He queried as he approached.

‘Oh, good. You’re here. That guy’s in your office.’ Jongdae said hurriedly. ‘I saw him when I was coming into work so I followed him up here.’

‘What guy…?’ Baekhyun asked, puzzled. But then it clicked. ‘Son of a bitch!’ He burst open his office door and sure enough, there was Minho sat arrogantly on the side of his desk.

‘Morning!’

‘Minho!! What the hell are you doing here?!’ Baekhyun screeched.

‘I just had to come and apologise. I’m sorry for the texts.’ Minho said then thrust out a bouquet of flowers. ‘These are for you.’

Baekhyun looked down at the flowers then back to Minho then back to the flowers and back to Minho. His brain was faltering as it tried to comprehend what was happening. He could hear unsubtle murmurs behind him and realised his door was still wide open.

‘Look, Minho.’ He began with a sigh. ‘It’s nice of you to come and apologise but I need you to leave now and please, _please_ , don’t do this again.’

‘Oh.’ Minho’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Yes. Of course. I’ll just leave these here.’ He set the flowers down on the desk and scurried forwards, finally leaving the room. ‘I’ll see you later then.’

‘Goodbye.’ Baekhyun said through gritted teeth and finally, Minho was gone.

Jongdae was on him in a nanosecond. ‘Oh, he’s fun. I like him.’ His voice dripped sarcasm.

‘Shut up.’ Baekhyun hissed.

‘What a romantic, coming all this way to give you flowers as soon as you get to work.’ Jongdae continued to taunt.

‘Oh god.’ Baekhyun slapped his hand over his face. ‘Everyone in this entire building is going to know by lunchtime.’

‘Yep!’ Jongdae agreed. Baekhyun groaned and trudged behind his desk, dropping down heavily. His friend followed and closed the door at last. He took the seat opposite. ‘You know I never ask but… I have to ask.’

‘I know.’ Baekhyun sighed for a second time. ‘He’s just this friend I had at university and we used to be really close but after graduation we drifted apart. Now, it’s like he’s trying to force his way back into my life but not in a friendly way.’

‘Oh?’

‘In a creepy way.’ It was the only way to describe it.

‘Does Chanyeol know?’

‘Hah!’ Baekhyun snorted. ‘No way.’

‘So, are you seeing this guy?’

He scoffed again. ‘Definitely not.’

Jongdae paused, looking confused. Baekhyun didn’t blame him. ‘But… he brought you flowers?’

‘Urgh I know.’ Baekhyun cried. He looked back down at the bouquet with loathing. ‘I think he’s got feelings for me and some weird fantasy of us being together.’

‘Well, have you told him you don’t feel the same way?’ Jongdae questioned.

Baekhyun chewed his lip. ‘…no.’

‘Better do that then.’ His friend sniggered. ‘Or you can expect more of these.’ He gestured at the flowers as his got up from his chair. He winked good-naturedly as he left the office. Baekhyun cursed him for being right.

-

It was technically Chanyeol’s week with Taehyung on the day of Jongin and Kyungsoo’s party but since he and Baekhyun were both attending, it seemed more logical for Taehyung to go home with Chanyeol on Saturday instead of Friday. Baekhyun didn’t manage to convince his son to put on formal clothes for the day so he relented and just let the child pick out his own outfit, it was more of a casual gathering anyway. They drove over to the house to pick up Chanyeol and then set off for the party.

‘Did Kyungsoo actually say whether there was a reason for this shindig?’

Baekhyun smirked, ‘I have a suspicion that it’s just because Jongin finally finished building the BBQ.’ They laughed.

‘Can I ask you something?’ Chanyeol then said.

‘Yeah?’

‘Is Taehyung wearing an Elsa costume?’ He peered behind to the back seat. ‘…and a snorkel?’

‘Chanyeol, our son is going to make many choices in his life. Some he will regret and hopefully, this will be one of those times after we show his friends the pictures on his 18th birthday.’

The car was filled with Chanyeol’s raucous laughter that Taehyung accompanied without realising it was at his expense.

Kyungsoo and Jongin’s house was already full of people by the time they pulled into the last remaining spot along the road. It was a good job Baekhyun had delivered the gazebo the day before otherwise what a palaver that would have been to set up in the middle of a busy garden. It was set up proudly on the back lawn covering a table full of food and plenty of drinks. Jongin was stood by the newly built BBQ wearing a “kiss the chef” apron and waving a spatula around aimlessly. Baekhyun looked around for Kyungsoo but was suddenly bombarded by the newlyweds.

‘Baek!’ Sehun leapt forwards to hug his cousin.

‘Hey, how was Fiji?’ Baekhyun asked as he then hugged Luhan as well. He wished he’d never asked because Sehun then didn’t shut up about the honeymoon for a good twenty minutes. When Baekhyun finally managed to escape, Chanyeol had disappeared and Taehyung was running through the sprinkler singing Let It Go.

‘There you are!’ Someone cried and Baekhyun span around. He breathed a sigh of relief to see Kyungsoo. ‘I’ve been looking for you.’

‘Me too but I got stuck listening to a story about a starfish for about a hundred years.’ Baekhyun grumbled.

‘He’s told that story to everyone whose walked through the bloody door.’ Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. ‘Listen, come over here.’ He tugged Baekhyun’s arm over to a more secluded spot near the honeysuckle bush. The only person within earshot was Taehyung but he was very busy building his imaginary snow palace.  

‘Hot gossip already? The party’s only been going for an hour.’ Baekhyun sniggered.

‘I was going past the kitchen just now and I saw Chanyeol in there talking to someone I work with.’

‘What?’ Baekhyun’s stomach clenched.

‘Wait, just listen.’ Kyungsoo pacified. ‘This girl was being completely desperate and she asked Chanyeol if he was seeing anyone and then Chanyeol told her he’s _married_.’

‘Well it’s not technically a lie.’ Baekhyun mused, partially in shock.

‘Baek, he showed her his ring.’ Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows.

‘Oh.’

‘Yeah.’

‘ _Oh_.’

‘Yeah!’

‘So, what should I do?’

‘Well, there’s not much you _can_ do except know that Chanyeol’s still holding out hope for you.’ Kyungsoo shrugged.

‘Umma!’

Baekhyun jolted out of his stupor. ‘Yes Tae?’

‘I need a poo.’

‘Delightful.’

-

Baekhyun didn’t confront Chanyeol about what Kyungsoo had overheard but he investigated to see if the other was in fact wearing his wedding ring. It turned out he was. Baekhyun decided not to draw attention to it. He was having a good time and didn’t want to spoil the nice afternoon. Besides, it was now time to watch Jongin attempt to grill burgers for everyone and Chanyeol was busy keeping an eye on it in case the whole thing went up in flames which was entirely possible.

One of Kyungsoo’s neighbours had brought along their ten-year-old daughter Mina, who Taehyung had managed to befriend. She was showing him how to cartwheel and although he didn’t seem to be getting the hang of it at all, he was certainly laughing his head off. It was rare that Taehyung had someone else to play with other than grownups at any of these gatherings so it was nice to see him rolling around on the grass with Mina instead of tormenting the adults.

The adults were tormented enough.

‘Sehun get the hose!’ Chanyeol yelled.

‘Oh bugger shit fuck!!’

‘Kim Jongin you imbecile!’ Kyungsoo screeched.

Baekhyun and Luhan watched the entertainment whilst they lounged on deckchairs and sipped punch through crazy straws. Sehun put the fire out with the hose and then aimed it at Jongin for his punishment. Of course, that meant war and soon Jongin, Sehun and Chanyeol were chasing each other around the garden. Mina found a pair of water pistols and gave one to Taehyung so that they could join in and ultimately win the battle.

When everything had calmed down, Jongin handed over his apron to Yixing who gladly took over the grilling, serving up burgers and slices of beef for the bulgogi. Baekhyun took Taehyung off to get changed out of his soaking wet Elsa costume and into the spare clothes he’d brought just in case. He didn’t think there was ever a time he’d brought an extra outfit for Taehyung and not had to use it. Once his son was properly dressed in dry, clean clothes, he looked cute and presentable enough that Baekhyun decided to take a picture of them together in the sunshine. He let Taehyung go back to playing and then uploaded the photo to Facebook.

‘Hey, try some of this, Baek.’ Chanyeol appeared with a bowl of what looked like curry and held up a spoon of it to Baekhyun’s face. The smell was unpleasant.

‘Eww no.’ He wrinkled his nose and pushed the offering away, swallowing a rise of nausea. ‘Smells disgusting.’

‘Sorry.’ Chanyeol put down his bowl and picked up a beer instead. ‘Did you hear Sehun’s story about the-’

‘Starfish? Yes. He tried to tell me a second time but I put an ice cube down his t-shirt and ran away.’ Baekhyun sniggered and Chanyeol grinned as he took a swig from the bottle. The motion drew Baekhyun’s attention back to the wedding ring and despite his reservations from before, he figured it was worth asking. He wasn’t mad about it. So, he reached out his own hand and lifted Chanyeol’s again making the both of them look at it.

‘You noticed.’

‘Mm.’ Baekhyun dropped their hands.

‘I don’t wear it all the time.’ Chanyeol’s ears went pink. ‘I guess I just felt like it today.’ He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

‘You can wear it if you want to, I don’t mind.’ Baekhyun replied, surprising himself as well as Chanyeol.

‘Really?’

‘Yeah. It’s yours after all.’ The poignancy of his words didn’t catch up to him immediately but once he saw the smile growing on Chanyeol’s face, he remembered the words engraved on the ring.

**My heart is yours, forever**

Baekhyun cleared his throat awkwardly and made a getaway before Chanyeol could say anything. His feet took him inside and to the kitchen where he discovered Kyungsoo carefully unwrapping a cake that was decorated beautifully in fruit. He didn’t notice the woman in the room until she replied to something Kyungsoo said and Baekhyun had to suppress his alarm. It was the girl that had been talking to Chanyeol earlier.

‘Can you find me the raspberry sauce, Baek?’ Kyungsoo suddenly asked. ‘It’s in the back of the cupboard somewhere. I need to go and get the ice cream out of the freezer.’ He disappeared through the door to the garage and Baekhyun was left alone with the woman.

‘Hi.’ He said politely but immediately bent down to the cupboard Kyungsoo had specified to hide himself amidst soup, instant noodles and tinned peaches.

‘Hey, I’m Eunbi, I work with Kyungsoo.’ The girl said. Baekhyun moved aside a stack of tuna cans and found the raspberry sauce. ‘I spoke to your husband earlier.’ He gasped and rose-up too quickly, banging his head on the top of the cupboard.

‘ _Bollocks_.’ He hissed.

‘Are you ok?’ Eunbi called out. He heard her footsteps cautiously moving closer but he clambered up with a fake smile plastered on his face.

‘I’m great, I’m fine.’ Baekhyun replied in a fluster. ‘Got the sauce.’

She chuckled uncertainly. He swallowed thickly as he regained his composure, praying to every god that Kyungsoo would come back.

‘You’re so lucky.’ Eunbi said wistfully.

‘I am?’ Baekhyun tensed.

‘Yes! I wish I had a husband that loved me as much as yours loves you.’

‘Oh. Right.’ His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. ‘What did Chanyeol say exactly?’ He probed.

‘He said you’re his soulmate and that you mean the world to him.’ Eunbi sighed happily.

‘He did?’ Baekhyun whispered. He was breathless. The kitchen faded away into a rosy haze, gently swirling around him and amplifying the ruthless thumping of his heart.

‘Ooh good, you found it!’ Kyungsoo pulled him out of the daydream like shattering glass. He looked around and noticed that Eunbi had disappeared. Still a little unsteady on his feet, he grabbed Kyungsoo’s arm. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Chanyeol told Eunbi that I’m his soulmate. He told her I mean the world to him.’ Baekhyun said in a low voice.

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened. ‘Shit, he really committed.’

‘I don’t think he was playing pretend.’

‘Shit.’ He repeated.

‘I… I need a minute.’ Baekhyun’s heart was still racing. He felt too warm.

‘Go upstairs and sit in my room for a bit.’ Kyungsoo commanded, already guiding him out of the kitchen. Baekhyun nodded vaguely and heeded his instructions.

He went up to Kyungsoo and Jongin’s bedroom and locked the door. He perched on the end of the bed but immediately got back up again and started pacing. He was panicked, that was for certain. The heart palpitations and the sick feeling in his stomach were clear. Everything had been fine, everything had been happy and friendly and nice and now Chanyeol was telling people that they were soulmates and Baekhyun was panicking because he had missed Chanyeol so much and never realised just how much until that very moment.

He missed his outdoorsy smell and his big ears. He missed waking up surrounded by an enormous cuddly bear. He missed the stupid jokes and sappy messages that were text to him at work. He missed having someone to dump the rest of his food onto when he got too full. He missed getting teased when he cried at movies. He missed feeling like no matter what happened, good or bad, he’d always have Chanyeol by his side.

But acknowledging this painful longing wasn’t as much of a blissful epiphany as it should have been. It was being thwarted by the sense that just missing someone wasn’t enough to fix a relationship. There were things that had come up in their therapy sessions that couldn’t be brushed under the rug and as the past could prove, hurtling into married life hadn’t worked out at all. They needed to fix the things that needed fixing if they wanted a shot at that perfect happy ending. Baekhyun burst out a sob, realising for the first time that, without a shadow of a doubt, he needed to be with Chanyeol again.

He paced around a bit more, trying to shake off his emotion and stop the stinging in his eyes. He breathed slowly and managed to calm down. There was no telling what would happen when he saw Chanyeol again downstairs but he couldn’t hide in Kyungsoo’s room forever. He checked his appearance in the mirror and straightened out his outfit before taking one last soothing breath and opening the door. He hurried down to the party but looked out cautiously from the patio doors to assess his options. Luckily, Chanyeol was distracted, chasing Taehyung around the lawn with Sehun; Baekhyun wouldn’t have to talk to him straightaway.

‘Feeling better?’

He jumped. ‘Jesus!’

‘No, just me.’ Kyungsoo smirked. ‘You look like you’ve been thinking too hard.’

‘I’ve deduced a few things.’ Baekhyun replied.

‘Well whatever they are, forget about them for now and enjoy the party.’

-

So Baekhyun did just that. He tucked his thoughts away in a pocket at the back of his mind and let himself have fun. The party was still buzzing by the time the sun went down. Guests had come and gone, Taehyung was sleepily watching cartoons inside and a lot of the adults were rather merry. Most of them were sat around the chimenea since the temperate outside had dropped. Unfortunately, there were no marshmallows to toast on it.

The group chatted happily, retelling stories from the years past as well as plans for the future. This included Sehun’s insistence that he and Luhan were getting a puppy although Luhan didn’t look too thrilled about this news. Yixing announced he was going to be doing some volunteer work at a children’s hospital in China for several months which everyone was a little sad about, however Joonmyun looked like the world was ending and not long after, ran off to the bathroom. Luhan and Baekhyun stifled their laughter as Kyungsoo handed over his money to them since he’d lost the bet.

‘He told me he was seeing someone!’

‘Doesn’t mean he can’t still be madly in love with Yixing.’ Luhan giggled, clutching his hand to his heart and making kissy faces.

‘Whatever.’ Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. ‘Someone should probably go and see if he’s alright.’

‘Why don’t we send Yixing?’ Baekhyun grinned like a sly fox. ‘Joonmyun, the doctor will see you now.’

‘Those healing hands will sort you out.” Luhan joined in and all three of them fell into a fit of laughter, garnering a few inquisitive looks from the others. After they’d calmed down enough, Baekhyun conceded that he would go inside after Joonmyun, he wanted to check on Taehyung anyhow.

He poked his head into the living room and smiled at Taehyung who was still watching tv. Taehyung smiled back even though he was sucking his thumb. Baekhyun retreated into the hallway and went down to the bathroom door which he gently knocked on. There was no answer so he called out Joonmyun’s name but still, nothing. He must have gone upstairs. Baekhyun headed that way instead but as he reached the staircase, the front door suddenly opened and who should walk in but-

‘Minho! What the hell are you doing here?!’

‘I’ve come to the party!’

‘Who invited you?’

‘You did.’

Baekhyun stared, completely incredulous. ‘No, I didn’t.’

Minho finally stopped grinning like a maniac. ‘Alright, nobody invited me but I missed you and I saw on Facebook that you were here so I came.’

‘But… but…’ Baekhyun stammered. He was at a total loss for what to say. Who in their right mind shows up at a party they weren’t invited to just because they wanted to see someone? ‘Why didn’t you call me or something?’

‘I wanted to surprise you. I thought it’d be fun.’ Baekhyun recoiled from Minho’s creepy smile and fidgeting body. 

‘Look, I’m sure you had the best intentions when you decided to come over here but why don’t you go home, and I’ll speak to you later?’ Baekhyun suggested. He thought Minho was about to agree with him but then suddenly, Joonmyun came down the stairs. His eyes were red, he’d definitely been crying. As soon as he saw Baekhyun, he flung himself into the others arms and started sniffling again.

‘It’s alright.’ Baekhyun soothed, rubbing Joonmyun’s back. The poor guy was genuinely upset but he also smelled heavily of alcohol and needed to calm down.

‘Sorry Baek.’ He mumbled. ‘I’m going to see if there’s any cake left.’ And off he shuffled to the kitchen. Baekhyun would have found it funny but his humour from before had dissipated and besides, there was a bigger problem staring at him menacingly with his arms folded.

‘What the hell was that?’ Minho snapped.

‘I was comforting my friend, chill out.’

‘He hugged you.’ The tall boy’s voice started escalating in volume and Baekhyun’s eyes darted to the living room, hoping that Taehyung was either distracted by the tv or that he’d fallen asleep. ‘In front of me!’

‘What difference should that make?’ Baekhyun frowned.

‘You’re mine.’ Minho growled.

‘Woah, woah, woah. No I am _not_!’

‘Yes you are. You love me. I know you do.’ Minho started advancing on him and Baekhyun began to panic.

‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’ He hissed. ‘You’ve changed. You’re not who you were at university. What happened to you?’

‘It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is me and you. We belong together, Baekhyun.’ Minho’s hand slammed against the wall and Baekhyun gasped as his back hit it. He was trapped. He tried to shove Minho away but the latter was strong and held him where he was.

‘Get off me you idiot!’ He continued trying to wrestle off Minho’s hold but it wasn’t working and the panic rising in him was making him feel sick.

‘Stop trying to fight it. I know you want this as much as I do!’

‘You’re fucking delusional!!’

Minho snarled and pressed his forearm into Baekhyun’s neck. The pressure on his jugular was making the sick feeling ten times worse. He tried to breathe through his nose and stop the nausea but if he couldn’t wrangle his way out of Minho’s chokehold, he had to yell for help. Baekhyun wasn’t some damsel in distress but he knew how to pick his battles.

‘J-Joonmyun!!’ He cried, hoping the other was still in the kitchen. ‘Joo-’ Minho’s tongue slimed its way into his mouth and cut off his hollering. Baekhyun renewed his attempt to beat off Minho’s limbs in a disgusted frenzy. ‘Get off, get off, ge-’ The insane bastard wouldn’t stop kissing him, practically crushing his skull trying to get Baekhyun to keep still.

‘Baekhyun?! Hey!!’ At last. Joonmyun. ‘Get off him!!’

‘What’s going on?’

Baekhyun’s panic-stricken eyes darted across the hall and saw Chanyeol. The unfolding of events happened so quickly that it didn’t seem real but one minute Chanyeol was wandering inside the house and the next, he had thundered down the corridor and punched Minho so hard he crashed down onto the floor.

‘ _What the fuck are you doing here?!!_ ’ Chanyeol roared. ‘GET OUT!!’

Minho ground his teeth angrily but, nevertheless, got up off the floor and stomped out of the house, clutching his bleeding nose. Baekhyun furiously wiped his mouth. He was struggling to get his breathing under control. Chanyeol cautiously stepped closer to him, attempting to make eye contact but Baekhyun’s vision began to spin. The rest of the party were crowding into the hall, wondering what had happened. Jongin and Sehun even marched outside to make sure Minho had gone.

‘Chanyeol…’ Baekhyun muttered.

‘Baek?’

‘Chany-’ He grabbed Chanyeol’s arm. His legs were giving way. The last thing he saw before his vision went black was Chanyeol’s worried face.

-

He woke up on Kyungsoo and Jongin’s sofa and blearily took a glance at his surroundings. Chanyeol was sat on the floor next to him, resting his back up against the couch. Sehun was perching on the side of the armchair where Luhan was sat with a snoozing Taehyung cuddled up in his arms. Baekhyun could hear the sounds of Jongin saying goodbye to people and car engines rumbling into life outside. When Kyungsoo entered the room, he noticed that Baekhyun was awake and suddenly, all eyes turned towards him.

‘Baek!’ Chanyeol gasped, scrambling around. He gently brushed the strands of hair on Baekhyun’s forehead as he anxiously scanned the boy’s face. ‘Are you alright?’

‘Here, sit up.’ Kyungsoo came forwards and handed Baekhyun a mug of tea. ‘Tell us what happened.’

Baekhyun slowly righted himself into a sitting position and sipped the drink. He didn’t even know where to begin. ‘Err well, Minho…’

‘So, it _was_ Minho?’ Kyungsoo’s eyebrows raised in surprise. ‘I knew I recognised him. Why was he here? How the hell does he know where I live?’

‘He must have got the location from my post on Facebook.’ Baekhyun replied. He sighed, looking at the confusion and concern on Chanyeol and Kyungsoo’s faces. ‘He’d got it into his head that I… loved him. Don’t ask me why. He’s turned into some crazy possessive freak.’

‘So, have you seen him recently?’ Luhan piped up from across the room.

Baekhyun sighed again. ‘Yes, I’ve met up with him a few times in the last month but for me it was platonic. I guess he had different ideas.’ Of course, this wasn’t the full truth but it didn’t seem worth it to bring up everything that had gone on when hopefully, this was the last he’d see of Minho.

‘Did he hurt you?’ Chanyeol asked. There was a furious glint in his eyes that suggested if Minho _had_ hurt Baekhyun at all, the guy was going to start wishing he’d never been born.

Other than the aching around his neck, he was otherwise unharmed. ‘No, I’m fine.’

‘You sure? You did just faint.’ Sehun pointed out, chuckling lightly.

‘I’m probably still a bit run down from when I was ill. I’ll be ok.’ Baekhyun assured. Chanyeol squeezed his knee and smiled at him.

Kyungsoo instinctively knew that now was a good time for everyone to make themselves scarce from the living room except the two now staring at each other. He got up and ushered Sehun and Luhan out of the room along with Taehyung. Then he closed the door quietly leaving Baekhyun and Chanyeol to talk in private.

‘I’m glad you’re alright.’

‘Thanks for rescuing me.’ Baekhyun snickered. He set down the mug on a side table and sat up properly on the sofa. Chanyeol was still crouched on the floor looking up at him. The dim glow of the lamps was casting him in a flattering light.

‘Any time.’ He grinned. They gazed at each other for a few quiet moments then something stirred in Baekhyun that made him feel brave.

‘We’re worth saving, you and I.’ He murmured. Chanyeol’s face perked up in a hopeful manner. Baekhyun smiled, not knowing why he wanted to cry. It had been a trying day; his emotions had taken a beating and they must be working their way out of his system in a gentle stream of tears. ‘We have to fix everything because… because I don’t what I’ll do without you anymore.’

Chanyeol reached up and stroked away the tears slipping down his cheeks. Then he stood up and held out a hand for Baekhyun to take so that they were both standing. Baekhyun sobbed when Chanyeol wrapped him up in his arms because he’d never needed that feeling more than he did in that moment. He buried his face into the warm cuddly bear and breathed in the outdoorsy smell. It was everything he wanted. It was completely Chanyeol. It was home.

-

Of course, he ended up staying at the old house that night. Chanyeol didn’t need to invite him, no words were needed, Baekhyun simply drove them home, got out of the car and went straight inside like it was perfectly normal. The difference came when he made the decision to sleep in the spare room, however, for both of them, it sounded like a good idea. If Taehyung thought anything was out of the ordinary, he didn’t show it at all. He pleaded for the dinosaur book to be read for the thousandth time and then went to sleep without a fuss.

In the morning, Baekhyun ate the breakfast that was made for him, showered in his old shower for the first time in almost a year and then said goodbye to Taehyung. He left promising Chanyeol that he felt a lot better since the night before and then headed back to his apartment. He could have stayed longer but he needed fresh clothes and there was a stack of work waiting for him to go through before Monday.

When he was in the office that day, he sent messages back and forth with Chanyeol which was something familiar they hadn’t done in a long time. They weren’t discussions of anything greatly important but it was nice having a distraction when the paperwork started getting too monotonous. It also made Baekhyun think back on what he said at the weekend to Chanyeol. He hadn’t overthought it, he’d expressed what he felt and it had been true. Far more true than any of the useless gripes he had whinged about Chanyeol for the past ten months. He was done pretending not to care.

He was a little excited when Tuesday came around and he hurried out of the office as soon as the clock struck 12. Chanyeol was waiting in the car park for him like usual and together they drove into the city for a quick lunch and the therapy appointment. While they were sat in the waiting room, Baekhyun couldn’t help but notice that although Chanyeol was smiling, he seemed sad for some reason. He didn’t get a chance to ask about it, however, since they were already being called in.

‘How have you been?’ Dr Shin asked as they all took a seat.

‘Really great, actually.’ Baekhyun replied.

‘That’s good to hear.’ She began opening up an app on her tablet. ‘I have a couple of workshops we can try today.’

‘Dr Shin?’ Chanyeol interjected.

‘Mm?’

‘There’s something I’d like to talk about today if that’s alright.’

‘Of course.’ She put down the device. ‘Go ahead.’

Baekhyun turned to look at Chanyeol in surprise and curiosity. The other boy breathed out methodically.

‘I think that we might have reached a turning point in our relationship and because of that, I have to explain something that I haven’t told anyone.’ He paused.

‘Being honest is always important, even when it’s difficult.’ Dr Shin said for encouragement. Baekhyun was rapt yet nervous, he couldn’t fathom what Chanyeol was going to say.

‘Ok… erm, well, when my father died two years ago, I went through the grieving process and then I thought that I would be ok… but I wasn’t and I didn’t understand what I was going through at all. My boss was the one who suggested to me that I speak to a professional. So, I did and… and he diagnosed me with depression.’ Chanyeol’s hands were gripping the fabric of his jeans.

Baekhyun was totally stunned. He didn’t know how to react other than to keep listening even as his heart rate increased.

‘I started taking antidepressants after that and it was helping me out so I thought that the problem was taken care of but then, when it was coming closer to the anniversary of his death, I got worse… a lot worse.’ Chanyeol swallowed thickly. ‘I stopped taking the pills because I thought they weren’t helping which was a stupid idea and it made me do stupid things.’

‘Like cheating?’ Dr Shin clarified.

‘Like cheating.’ Chanyeol nodded. ‘Then the separation happened and the month surrounding that was the worst month of my life. If it wasn’t for Taehyung, I wouldn’t have started taking the medication again. He made me realise that I had to stop feeling sorry for myself. I needed to be there for him and I couldn’t do that if I was in a state. I’m his father… I have to be ok… for him.’ There were unshed tears in his eyes when he finished.

Dr Shin sighed. ‘Thank you for sharing all that, Chanyeol. Now Baekhy-’

‘How could you keep that from me?’ Baekhyun was shaking. He wasn’t angry, not yet anyway, he felt like someone had shot him in the chest. Chanyeol turned to him with bloodshot eyes and a forlorn expression.

‘Because…” His voice was strained. ‘Because I felt so ashamed a-and I thought I could deal with it on my own so that you wouldn’t ever have to know.’

‘I needed to know!’ Baekhyun suddenly sobbed. He covered his eyes with a trembling hand.

‘Baek…’

‘I-I broke up with you because I looked up to you _so_ much, I practically worshipped you and… a-and you let me down. Everything I thought you were was smashed by this horrid reality check. I held you so high in my esteem that to do something as awful and _low_ as cheat on me was the most brutal slap in the face. And now…’ He took a shuddering breath through his nose. ‘Now I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel because if you had told me all this back then… I-I would have f-forgiven you and I would have helped y-you.’

Chanyeol’s chin began to quiver as he suppressed a cry. The room was very quiet for a few minutes as the pair on the sofa tried to regain their composure.

‘Despite the tears, you were right Chanyeol, we have reached a turning point.’ Dr Shin said softly. ‘I think what would be best now is for you to both take some time for yourselves to think over everything that has been talked about today. Next week, we can address everything afresh.’

‘Yes, you’re right.’ Chanyeol murmured.

‘Thank you, Dr Shin.’ Baekhyun stopped biting his lip though his breath hitched as he spoke. They left the therapist’s office and went out to the car but Chanyeol didn’t start up the engine immediately.  

‘Are you ok?’ He asked.

‘Not now… but I will be.’ Baekhyun smiled despite himself. ‘Just give me some time to process.’

‘Of course.’ Chanyeol finally turned the key in the ignition.

-

Watching tv that evening was a pointless exercise for it couldn’t do anything to block out the din in Baekhyun’s head. In the end, he switched off the television and sat silently in the mutedly lit room. There were no words to describe how he felt and no semblance of reasoning could unjumble his thoughts. Mostly, he kept coming back to the one thing that hurt the most – how did he not see for himself that Chanyeol was going through such a hard time?

Looking back, there were small clues that should have led him to the right conclusion. He’d accepted a lot of the symptoms as grief and acted accordingly, giving the support he could. But when it had come close to the anniversary of the death, he’d noticed the excessive sleeping and disinterest with food, he’d noticed the grey pallor and the unmotivated attitude towards the job that Chanyeol had always loved. He’d seen all the signs and never connected the dots.

Baekhyun could defend himself in that he’d never known anyone in his life to go through depression so it could be forgiven that he didn’t recognise what was happening to Chanyeol. But still, he had noticed a change in the person he was supposed to have loved… and done nothing about it. For once, Baekhyun couldn’t blame Chanyeol for the things that were going wrong, he couldn’t hate him for all the suffering they had gone through. He just sat there, biting his lip, hating himself.  

Suddenly, the intercom buzzed. Someone was outside the apartment building. Baekhyun ran over to it.

‘Chanyeol!’ He cried into the speaker.

‘No, it’s me.’

‘Minho?’

‘Yeah. Can I come in?’

Baekhyun considered his options. ‘I’ll come down. Give me a second.’

He stepped away from the wall and pondered for a moment. Minho was probably there to apologise and as an old friend, he’d owed him that at least. But not inside his apartment where he couldn’t get rid of him as easily. He slipped on a pair of shoes and meandered downstairs.

‘Hey.’ He called and Minho whipped around to face him sporting a fetching black eye.

‘Oh Baekhyun, thank god, we have to talk.’ He was twitching.

‘Yeah. I don’t know what got into you on Saturday bu-’

‘I think we should run away together!’ Minho eagerly exclaimed. ‘We can go far away from that crazy Chanyeol.’

‘Crazy?’ Baekhyun could scarcely believe what he was hearing. ‘You’re the one who’s crazy! I’m not going anywhere with you.’

‘How can you say that? We’re meant to be together!’ Just like before, Minho ignored the boundaries of personal space. Standing so close to Baekhyun, however, the latter got a proper look at his face.

‘Minho, what the fuck have you been taking?’ He questioned.

Minho shrugged. ‘Nothing.’

‘I’ve heard better lies from my son and he’s _four_.’ Baekhyun scoffed. ‘You stay away from me or I’ll call the police. Either that or I even up the eye makeup Chanyeol gave you.’

‘Baek, come on. What does it matter if I’ve taken something? It doesn’t change the way I feel about you.’

‘Actually, I think it has. Now fuck off.’ Baekhyun stormed back inside the apartment building and quickly shut the door behind him so that Minho couldn’t get in. The deranged boy started pounding on the window and yelling expletives but Baekhyun was already out of ear shot.

Once he felt safe in his apartment with the door locked, he saw no reason to stay up any longer and went straight to bed. He ignored the churning of his stomach and the adrenalin still coursing through his veins. He was having trouble acknowledging what had gone on in the past week with Minho. The person he used to know was long gone, replaced by a drug-addled loony with attachment issues. There was plenty Baekhyun didn’t know about Minho’s life since university and he was scared to find out if this was the product.

He tossed and turned in his bed, flicking between Minho and Chanyeol. The onslaught to his brain was unbearable; all he wanted was to fall asleep and deal with it all in the morning. Anxiety and guilt wouldn’t allow that. They kept him awake until gone 2am and when he did, finally, drift off into sleep, it was fitful and disturbed by upsetting dreams.

_He had five minutes to complete the twenty-minute drive to work, he hadn’t eaten any breakfast, Taehyung was screaming bloody murder and Chanyeol was still in bed._

_‘Taehyung, go and get in the car. Right now!’ He yelled as he stomped up the stairs. His son’s cries turned to whimpers as he obeyed the command, his bottom lip sticking out. Baekhyun marched across the landing and threw open the bedroom door._

_‘Thanks so much for your help this morning. Really fucking appreciate it.’ He sneered sarcastically at the lump under the covers. Chanyeol didn’t move. ‘I’m going to work now.’_

_‘Sorry.’ Said a very muffled voice._

_‘Hah!’ Baekhyun cried. ‘I don’t even fucking care if you’re sorry, unless it can replace you with someone who actually gets out of bed and helps me in the morning.’ He left the room shaking his head._

_Taehyung calmed down during the car journey to his preschool which was one small blessing amongst the chaos. Baekhyun then headed to work, breathing easier and ready with an elaborate excuse for his boss about why he was so late. Fortunately, he had built up a good enough track record that this one slip up was brushed aside. He carried on with his duties like normal until he realised that in the madness, he had left an important stack of paperwork at home. When the clock stuck midday, he ran down to his car and drove all the way back to the house to get it._

_He grumbled under his breath and he fumbled with the keys to get in then stalked through the house to his study. Sure enough, the paperwork was sat exactly where he’d left it the night before. He picked it up, shoved it into his briefcase and flounced back the way he had come. As he was going past the foot of the stairs, he suddenly heard a noise from above. He could have sworn it was a female voice._

_There it was again._

_Baekhyun put down his briefcase and slowly made his way up the stairs. His stomach was in knots. He took a deep breath and then opened the bedroom door._

_He gasped._

_The woman shrieked and hid herself under the covers. Chanyeol’s eyes widened to twice their normal size and his face went white with fear. He opened his mouth to say something but Baekhyun staggered back across the landing before running downstairs. Chanyeol’s footsteps thundered after him._

_‘Baekhyun! Wait!! Nothing happened!’ He shouted._

‘Chanyeol!!’ Baekhyun woke up with a jolt. His forehead was sweating and his heart was pounding. He felt like he’d just run a marathon. There was a bottle of water on his bedside table which he grabbed, taking a long swig. When he finally got his breathing under control and had shaken off the nightmare, he noticed that the pain in his stomach wasn’t going away. If anything, it was getting worse. He got out of bed and went into the bathroom to see if he had any painkillers but when he decided to go to the toilet, he pulled down his pyjama pants and yelped at the sight of so much blood.

Frightened, he kicked off the clothing and darted back into his room, flicking on the light switch. He threw back the duvet and gasped at the stain of blood on the sheet where he had been lying.

‘Oh my god.’ He whispered and began to tremble. He had to do something, the ache in his stomach was relentless.

Baekhyun grabbed his phone and dialled the person he needed now more than ever. But it went through to voicemail. He hit redial, praying and begging under his breath.

‘ _Baek, it’s 3 in the morning_.’ Chanyeol mumbled.

‘I’m know, I’m sorry, I… I-I-’

‘ _Are you alright?’_ He sounded more awake this time.

‘Can you take me to the hospital?’

-

A&E wasn’t busy when they arrived and they were seen by a nurse almost straight away. Baekhyun was shown to a ward and ushered into a bed with curtains drawn around it where he was told to wait for the doctor. Chanyeol, cradling a sleeping Taehyung to his chest, sat in the chair by the bed looking as worried as Baekhyun felt. He had a piece of hair sticking up at the back of his head that matched Taehyung’s electrocuted hedgehog style.

‘Minho came to my apartment last night.’ Baekhyun abruptly revealed. He had to break the silence with something.

‘What? Did he do something to you?’ Chanyeol asked frantically.

‘No, I told him to fuck off or I was going to call the police.’

‘Oh. Good.’

‘He was on drugs.’

‘Jesus, really?’

‘Mm.’ Baekhyun sighed. He adjusted his position up against the stiff pillows but didn’t find any relief for the pain in his abdomen. ‘Chanyeol?’ He murmured.

‘Yeah?’

‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me… I’m scared.’ He admitted quietly. Chanyeol reached over and took his hand.

‘It’s going to be alright.’ He said and Baekhyun almost believed him.

The doctor then appeared and requested that Chanyeol sit out in the waiting area while he performed his examination. Baekhyun watched him and Taehyung go with longing and fear, he was so tired and confused. The doctor checked his physical symptoms, asked him a few questions and then extracted some blood. He informed Baekhyun he’d have to do a more invasive check but the boy just let him get on with it, too worn out to care.

‘Ok, I’ll just be a few moments then I’ll bring your partner back in.’ The doctor disappeared from the ward and Baekhyun hugged his arms around himself as he sat in the bed alone.

There was something in him that was starting to piece the puzzle together but Baekhyun didn’t want to think about it. He breathed a sigh of relief when Chanyeol returned. He was not with Taehyung, however, and Baekhyun frowned.

‘He woke up so one of the orderlies took him to the creche.’ Chanyeol explained without having to be asked.

‘Ah, ok.’

‘Right then Baekhyun,’ The doctor announced, jotting something down on his clipboard. ‘From what I can assess so far, I’m afraid that you might have suffered a miscarriage, but, we’ll take you down to a different room where I can perform an ultrasound and that will tell us what we need to know. Ok? I’ll send a nurse to come and get you.’ He left once again through the white curtains.

Baekhyun’s blood ran cold. He turned to Chanyeol in complete dread.

‘I haven’t slept with anyone since-’ He burst out abruptly but his throat was seizing up.

‘So it could be mine?’ Chanyeol whispered. Baekhyun nodded, biting his lip. Tears started spilling over his cheeks before he could stop them. ‘Oh Baek.’ Chanyeol moved over onto the bed and gathered him up his arms and Baekhyun’s inhalation turned into a strangled cry.

‘Mr Byun?’ The nurse appeared.

He managed to keep it together as he was wheeled through the hospital to a private room. The doctor was waiting for him there with a different nurse who helped him onto the bed and brought Chanyeol a chair to sit on. He furiously rubbed his eyes and his face to combat the tears. It occurred to him, as a side-thought, that now he knew why he’d been such a big emotional mess for the past few weeks.

‘Alright, just lie back.’ The doctor said. He squirted the cold gel onto Baekhyun’s stomach and spread it around with the ultrasound device. Then he tapped a couple of things on the monitor. His silence did nothing to help the nervousness in the room.

Chanyeol found Baekhyun’s hand again and held on tight. The picture was so eerily similar to that of Baekhyun’s ultrasound five years ago but it was a drastically different atmosphere. The doctor continued to move the device around and inspect the monitor but then he clicked something else and all of a sudden, the room was filled with the sound of a heartbeat.

‘Oh my god.’ Chanyeol breathed.

‘Congratulations Baekhyun, you’re pregnant.’ The doctor said with a smile. He turned the screen and pointed to a small shape.

‘Oh my god!’ Chanyeol repeated.

Baekhyun, meanwhile, felt like he had frozen in time. The hospital faded away into a blur and all he could see was the grey mass on the screen as his heart synced to the rhythm of his baby’s.

His baby’s heartbeat.

_He was going to have a baby._

‘I… I’m having a baby.’ He muttered. He finally looked away from the monitor and at Chanyeol. The doctor and nurses had left the room. ‘We’re having a baby.’

‘We are.’ Chanyeol concurred, grinning so brightly it made Baekhyun smile at last.

‘I don’t believe it.’ He chuckled even though he had started crying again. Chanyeol hugged him, settling himself on the bed as well.

‘I don’t know if this is the right time or not,’ He said after a while. ‘But please move back home.’

Baekhyun laughed again. ‘I don’t know if this is the right time or not either but… but Chanyeol I-I’m so sorry. For everything. There’s so much I blamed you for that was my fault and I’m sorry.’

‘Baek-’

‘No, listen.’ Baekhyun sniffed. ‘You mean e-everything to me and I’ve treated you so badly and I don’t expect a baby to… to make up for that but if you can forgive me-’

‘Of course I forgive you, Baekhyun.’ Chanyeol cut in, wiping away his own tears. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too.’

Baekhyun’s heart stuttered when Chanyeol kissed him. It was the most perfect feeling. The butterflies in his stomach flipped and swirled and every inch of his body right down to the tips of his fingers and toes was alight with love. He kissed back, never wanting it to end.

-

They kept him overnight for observation and in the morning, his new midwife came to talk to him and insist that he take it easy from now on since it was stress that could be held responsible for the almost-miscarriage. She also reassured him that the baby would be perfectly fine after Baekhyun worked himself up to a minor panic attack, remembering the times he’d been drinking alcohol recently. All he had to worry about from there on out was to keep healthy and take his vitamins.

Of course, Baekhyun did continue to worry about anything and everything. He panicked again when he realised he didn’t know where Taehyung was but, as if by magic, that was when Chanyeol reappeared with an enormous bouquet of flowers, having just dropped off their son at school. Taehyung apparently hadn’t asked a lot of questions about his Umma which was unsurprising since he’d slept through most of the ordeal that night.

‘But what if he suddenly remembers we were at the hospital and gets scared?!’

‘Baek, he’s fine.’

‘But what if-’ Chanyeol cut him off with a kiss and Baekhyun was too flustered to be annoyed. He turned bright pink and tried to hide himself under the covers.

Chanyeol chuckled. ‘Get out of bed, lazy. The nurse told me they can discharge you once you’re ready to leave.’

‘Oh goodie.’ Baekhyun scurried out of the hospital bed and took the clothes that Chanyeol had brought him along with the flowers. He used the facilities, got changed and gave himself a short pep talk in the mirror that there was no need to be a complete spaz around Chanyeol, this wasn’t like the first month of their relationship again. He told himself to get it together then left the bathroom.

‘Ready?’ Chanyeol asked. His grin was brighter than the sun and his plain black t-shirt was sinfully well-fitted. Not quite of his own volition, Baekhyun let out a giggle that sounded like a strangled hiccup. He fled from the room with a laughing Chanyeol at his heel.

They went back home and Baekhyun took a few minutes longer to get out of the car when it hit him that he really was back home. This wasn’t just the old house that he had no choice but to visit once a fortnight, this was _his_ house. The house he’d bought with Chanyeol and made into their own haven. And he was back. This time – hopefully – for good.

Chanyeol made him go and sit out on a deckchair in the garden while he rushed off into the kitchen to make Baekhyun a drink and some food. He brought it all out on a tray with another flower. Baekhyun stuck it in his hair as he scoffed at Chanyeol dashing away again to get him a cushion. He laughed but he lapped it up, the pampering was nice, it reminded him of being pregnant with Taehyung and getting looked after all the time.

‘Stop flapping around and sit down with me.’ Baekhyun demanded. He put down his tray, the croissant had disappeared in less than three bites. ‘We should talk about some things.’

‘What kind of things?’ Chanyeol inquired as he set up another deckchair for himself and sat down.

‘Like when shall we tell people?’

‘Ooh,’ Chanyeol’s eyes widened as if he’d only just remembered his family and friends existed, ‘We should tell our friends all together. Maybe next week?’

‘Good enough for me. What about family?

‘I suppose we could invite them round for dinner…’

‘Or email them!’ Baekhyun quickly suggested. Chanyeol gave him a look. ‘Well, we can have your mum for dinner. She’s normal.’

‘Hah! Last time we had my family round, Umma spent at least two hours talking about the leak in the downstairs bathroom!’

‘That’s normal parent-type conversation!’ Baekhyun rebutted. ‘I think you remember as well as I do that the first and _only_ time my parents came here for a meal, my mother went rooting around in the cupboards, found Taehyung’s nappy rash cream and came to the astonishing conclusion that you had an STI!’ Chanyeol burst into laughter. ‘ _And_ somehow that turned into her revealing how much money my dad spends on Viagra a month!’ Baekhyun face-palmed at the memory, wishing he didn’t remember it so well.

‘She definitely encouraged me to start hiding medication.’ Chanyeol said through his sniggering but it soon tailed off when he realised that Baekhyun was giving him a weird look.

‘I was going to ask about that.’

‘The antidepressants?’

‘Yeah.’ Baekhyun felt bad for extinguishing the laughter. ‘I saw that you were paying for some type of medicine on our shared account statements but I didn’t know what it was.’

‘I keep them in the glovebox of my car.’ Chanyeol admitted.

‘So, do you still take them?’

‘Yeah but my doctor thinks I can start weening off soon since I’ve been making an improvement in the last couple of months.’

‘That’s good news.’

‘Yeah.’

They paused for a few moments. It felt so unusual to be talking about it but having it out in the open was so much easier than it would have been if they’d had to dance around the subject. It was an illness than Chanyeol was dealing with and he was getting better. Suddenly the word “depression” didn’t seem like such an all-consuming monster of doom and gloom.

‘Come with me when I next see my doctor and then he can explain everything to you properly.’ Chanyeol voiced.

‘That would be great.’ Baekhyun smiled.

‘Great.’ Chanyeol echoed and smiled as well. He looked into Baekhyun’s eyes for a long while. ‘I’ve missed you.’ He whispered. ‘I mean… it’s not like we haven’t seen each other for ages or something, I just… I-’

‘I know what you mean.’ Baekhyun agreed. ‘I’ve missed you too.’

Chanyeol scooted forward on his deckchair so that he could comfortably take Baekhyun’s hand. ‘I want you to know that I never want to repeat any of the stupid mistakes I made and that, more than anything, I never want to let you go again. When we broke up I just wallowed in self-pity and depression and I didn’t fight to get you back. I should have yelled and screamed and begged you to stay with me.’ He scratched his ear as his words hung in the air. ‘It’s just like you said at the party… we’re worth saving you and I.’

Baekhyun abruptly stood up making Chanyeol do the same and no sooner did he do so, did Baekhyun fling his arms around the giant with desperate need. He stood up on his tip toes to bury his face into Chanyeol’s neck and revelled in the feeling of being wrapped up like a blanket.

‘I love you so much.’ He mumbled into Chanyeol’s shoulder.

‘I love you too.’

‘I love you more.’

‘I love you times a million billion trillion.’

‘Alright, buy me dinner first, jeez.’ Baekhyun pushed him away playfully. Chanyeol couldn’t stop laughing.

 

Driving into the school car park together was weird, standing in the playground together was weirder but seeing Taehyung’s face light up when he saw the both of them was like a thousand dreams come true. His smile never faded in the slightest for the entire journey home and by the time they were all sat out in the garden, he was bouncing with joy. Baekhyun hoped what they had to tell him wouldn’t dampen his spirit.

‘Tae, come here, we want to talk to you.’ Chanyeol beckoned their son to join them on the picnic blanket. Taehyung bounded across the lawn and jumped onto his father, bruising a few ribs.

‘What is it?’ He asked.

‘The first thing is that,’ Baekhyun sighed happily, ‘I’m coming back to live here! We don’t have to go to the apartment every other week.’

‘Really?!’ Taehyung squeaked and when Baekhyun nodded, he leapt across to hug his Umma tightly.

‘Careful, Tae.’ Chanyeol warned though he was chuckling. ‘There’s even bigger news and you’re sat on it.’

‘What?’ Taehyung cocked his head like a puppy. He looked down at Baekhyun who had been knocked back onto the blanket. ‘Umma’s tummy?’

‘That’s where your baby brother or sister is growing at the moment.’ Baekhyun explained, sitting himself back up. Taehyung was frowning. He looked at both his parents in turn then down at Baekhyun’s stomach. Then he bent down and pressed his face up against it.

‘Are you ok?’ He whispered.

Baekhyun heart melted. ‘I’m sure he or she is fine, baby.’ He rubbed his tummy and then stroked Taehyung’s hair.

The young boy’s smile never faded for the remainder of the day, especially when evening drew in and he got to say goodnight to both his parents as they tucked him into bed. Baekhyun found himself wandering back into his son’s room later on and still the corners of Taehyung’s mouth were picked up even as he snored. He watched him sleeping for a while, absentmindedly stroking his stomach. He didn’t realise how long he had been standing in the doorway until Chanyeol came looking for him and dragged him back downstairs for cuddles on the couch.

‘Chanyeol?’ Baekhyun whispered some time later.

‘Hmm?’

‘What actually happened… that day?’ There was no need to specify, Chanyeol knew exactly which day he was referring to and it showed in his solemn expression as he disentangled them from their loose embrace.

‘Are you sure you want to know?’ He asked.

Baekhyun nodded. ‘I’m sure.’

Chanyeol huffed out the air in his lungs. ‘Alright, here goes…’

_…Taehyung’s screaming woke him up from a deep and groggy sleep that had only lasted around two hours since the early hours of the morning when his brain had finally switched off and let him have that brief reprieve. Now his wandering thoughts returned with a splitting headache. He pulled the covers up over his head and waited for Baekhyun to start yelling at him like usual. He knew he should just get out of bed and maybe take a shower but no matter how much he tried to convince himself that that would be a good idea, he never moved._

_‘Thanks so much for your help this morning. Really fucking appreciate it.’ Came Baekhyun’s sarcastic voice as he stomped into the bedroom. ‘I’m going to work now.’_

_Chanyeol winced, curling in on himself even more. He managed to get out a muffled, ‘Sorry.’_

_‘Hah!’ Baekhyun cried. ‘I don’t even fucking care if you’re sorry, unless it can replace you with someone who actually gets out of bed and helps me in the morning.’_

_The door slammed. Chanyeol heard footsteps going down the stairs, then the front door slamming, then the car engine starting and the crunching of gravel as it pulled out of the drive. He lasted all but ten seconds before tears began leaking out of his eyes and, in a continuation of the past six or seven days, he carried on crying for about an hour before becoming so hysterical that he ended up retching into the toilet._

_That day, however, after he finished emptying his stomach, he actually did bother to shower. He scrubbed himself clean – maybe a little too ferociously – and then got out to brush his teeth and run a comb through his tangled locks. He stared at himself in the mirror for several minutes, getting more and more frustrated. He screamed at his reflection, wanting to punch it but not having the guts to do so. The yell turned into another sob and yet again he descended into a fit of tears._

_There was so much self-hatred and anguish writhing in his stomach that it was a wonder he didn’t throw up again but when that second outburst subsided, he realised he’d scratched his bare skin too hard and there were seeping cuts along his shoulders and ribs. He ignored them and went to put on some clothes, clean ones, that he hoped would be at least one good thing that day. Now that he’d exhausted himself with crying, he felt numb enough to sleep again but almost laughed, knowing he should be so lucky to be able to sleep when he wanted to._

_The sofa was starting to get an imprint of his form. He switched on the tv but didn’t pay much attention to it. He could barely concentrate on anything, though he preferred that state of being to when his mind raced so zealously that he wanted to pull out his hair and scratch his brain out of his skull. There was still a bump where he’d repeatedly smacked his head into the wall the other day._

_Abruptly, his phone buzzed which made him jump since he hadn’t realised it was in the living room. He picked it up from the side table and curiously read the message that had been sent to him from a girl he worked with – Lee Sunyoung._

_Seems like you’re still off sick - I’m bringing you my grandmother’s stew Xxx_

_Chanyeol frowned at first; she was being a bit forward. Then again, she had been nothing **but** since she’d started working at the fire station a few months ago. She’d been taken on as a new office assistant and as an engineer and part time officer, Chanyeol shouldn’t have had that much to do with her as a general rule but she’d made it her business to get to know everyone at the station – particularly Chanyeol. _

_And now she was bringing him her grandmother’s stew because she thought he was sick. He scoffed. The idea of having company that day wasn’t appealing in the slightest; he was of a mind to send her a message right back telling her thanks but no thanks. But then he procrastinated on that idea for too long and before he knew it, the doorbell was ringing and, habitually, he was getting up to go and answer it. Sure enough, there she was. Lee Sunyoung. On his doorstep. With a container full of stew._

_‘Err hi… come in.’_

_‘Oh gosh you look awful.’ She said as she busied her way into the kitchen, going straight into the cupboards to find a bowl like she owned the place._

_‘Thanks.’ Chanyeol laughed dryly and then realised he was still standing there with the door open. He closed it and entered the kitchen as well, watching her putting the stew into the microwave._

_‘I just had to come over and see how you were doing. I mean, you haven’t been in work for a week! Isn’t your husband staying home to look after you?’ She babbled and Chanyeol scoffed for the second time that morning._

_‘That’d be a first.’ He muttered. ‘Look, I appreciate the concern but honestly, I’m doing ok. You didn’t have to bring me any food.’_

_‘Nonsense. Go and sit down on a comfy seat, I’ll bring you this when it’s done. Go on, go!’ She practically shoved him into the living room._

_Chanyeol had little choice but to heed her bidding. He sat down on the sofa and waited for her to return with the steaming bowl. He sipped a spoonful and faltered as the taste caught up with him. He looked up at her, saw her expectant face and smiled the best he could. Gingerly, he swallowed what was in his mouth and tried not to grimace. He paused and then made the decision to put the bowl down on the side._

_‘It’s a bit hot.’ He said by way of explanation._

_She settled herself comfortably on the sofa beside him, maybe a little too close but perhaps he was just being hyper aware of her. He was definitely on edge. Living and spending most of his time with Baekhyun meant he’d become used to closeness on an occasional basis. Sunyoung was probably this friendly with everyone and Chanyeol just wasn’t familiar with it. Still, overly friendly was one thing but constantly squeezing his knee was another._

_‘…and then the paper tray got jammed so I just decided nope, you’re going in the dustbin Mr Printer.’ She chortled. Chanyeol realised he hadn’t been paying attention._

_‘So, how come you’re not at work now?’ He asked, hoping it didn’t sound too much like he wanted to get rid of her._

_‘Oh, well,’ She giggled again, ‘technically I’m supposed to be collecting some parcels but the depot isn’t going anywhere. It can wait.’_

_‘Aha yeah…’ Chanyeol didn’t really know what to say to that. It was likely to be special parts for the fire engines in those parcels, parts that he would need when he went back to work, parts that he probably ordered in the first place!_

_‘Chanyeol, can I ask you a personal question?’ Sunyoung suddenly chirped and of course, Chanyeol panicked._

_‘Err what is it?’_

_She stared right at him so that he was frozen under her piercing gaze. ‘Are you and Baekhyun going through a rough time right now?’_

_‘What makes you think that?’ Chanyeol immediately questioned, panicking further still._

_‘Well you never mention him much and he never comes by the station and, if you don’t mind me saying, you seem lonely Chanyeol.’ Her hand was back on his knee again except it wasn’t going away._

_Chanyeol didn’t register the hand much while he was contemplating just how lonely he had felt recently, something he hadn’t identified within himself. He thought about the distance that had been growing between himself and Baekhyun through outside factors like work as well as the arguments and periods of not speaking. He thought about how Baekhyun just didn’t seem to care about his wellbeing anymore. Chanyeol didn’t want to be babied but it wasn’t too much to ask to get a little sympathy once in a while. He hadn’t been to work in a week and he didn’t even think that Baekhyun had noticed._

_‘I’m here for you if you want to talk.’ Sunyoung interrupted his reverie._

_Chanyeol glanced at her concerned face which shook him a little because she might be a tad annoying, she might not pick up important parcels on time, but there was genuine care and worry in her eyes which was something he hadn’t seen in Baekhyun’s in weeks. Due to this and his attention-starved soul, he found himself keening towards her kindness and affection._

_‘Thanks.’ He whispered and subsequently cleared his throat. ‘I’m not sure where Baekhyun and I stand at the moment.’_

_‘Communication is always key.’ Sunyoung recited cheerfully. She probably got that from a magazine. Chanyeol resisted the urge to roll his eyes, he knew that what she said was true, but he’d heard it so many times it had lost all meaning._

_He sighed. ‘Listen, thank you for coming to check on me and bringing the stew. But I err, I wouldn’t want you to catch this…’_

_‘Catch what?’ She chortled piercingly. ‘Chanyeol, it’s ok, you don’t have to keep it up. I’ve taken time off work after breakups before.’_

_‘I haven’t broken- I mean… Look. Sunyoung.’ He was getting wound up which she interpreted as being overwhelmed and scooted even closer._

_‘It’s really ok. You have to let out your feelings sometimes.’ Chanyeol suddenly, excruciatingly aware of how low cut Sunyoung’s blouse was, made worse by the way she was sitting. Was she doing it on purpose? ‘Just let it out, Chanyeol. It doesn’t have to be with words.’_

_She was doing it on purpose._

_And her hand was on his thigh. Inching upwards._

_‘Sunyoung-’_

_‘Shh.’ The hand reached its destination and Chanyeol squirmed involuntarily. He swallowed the noise of pleasure that threatened to burst from his throat, but it had been so long since Baekhyun’s hand had been down there that when Sunyoung applied the tiniest amount of pressure, he gasped loudly._

_She went for the zip to his jeans and he didn’t stop her. His brain was having a lot of trouble catching up with what was happening. She undid the button and fly and slipped her sinful hand inside not just his jeans but his underwear too. Chanyeol, half-erect, bit down on his bottom lip to stop himself from moaning like a touch-starved animal. Her hand was so different in shape and size to Baekhyun’s but with his eyes closed and his brain faltering, Chanyeol could not find the ability to care._

_Sunyoung clumsily pumped his length until he was fully hard and panting like a dog. When she abruptly pulled away, he near enough squeaked at the loss of contact. That was when she kissed him. It was sloppy and wet, she wasn’t very good at it. However, the only thing Chanyeol could focus on was the burning desire in his groin. He needed relief, even if that meant kissing a whelk._

_She began pulling him up off the sofa, trying to keep their mouths connected as best she could. Chanyeol stumbled after her as she led the way out of the living room and up the stairs. In the time it took to get to the bedroom, his head became a little clearer and he panicked. But Sunyoung was already taking off her clothes. She lightly shoved him onto the bed and pulled off his jeans. Then she bent down. Chanyeol’s limbs went limp as she engulfed his member with her mouth, teeth scraping ever so slightly. His mouth fell open to silently groan and pant again._

_His mind managed to process a dull thudding noise, but his concentration couldn’t be swayed from the sensation happening in his crotch. Regardless, Sunyoung was suddenly climbing on top of him. She must have bumped into something on her way up onto the bed, that would explain the noise. With her feminine legs astride his hips, Chanyeol noticed the lack of anything underneath her skirt. Had she already removed her underwear, or had she ever been wearing them in the first place? It would be so easy to slip into her and ride out his release. She distracted him with her amateur kissing once again._

_‘I’ve wanted you for so long.’ She said breathily and, all at once, the cloud over Chanyeol’s judgement burst, dousing him in a sobering rain. It was easy enough to pretend when he could close his eyes and listen to nothing but his own breathing, but her voice shattered the illusion._

_Sunyoung noticed that he had frozen and sat up. ‘What’s wrong?’_

_He opened his mouth to speak-_

_And then the bedroom door opened._

_Sunyoung shrieked and flung herself under the bed sheets. Chanyeol could do nothing but lock eyes with Baekhyun and feel his entire bloodstream filling with ice cold dread. He opened his mouth again, to say what – he didn’t know, but it was enough to end Baekhyun’s shock and have him staggering backwards, only to run away. Chanyeol flung himself off the bed and ran after him, not caring whether he was clothed or not._

_‘Baekhyun! Wait!! Nothing happened!’_

…

‘Technically, _something_ happened.’

‘I, well… yeah.’

Baekhyun got up off the sofa and starting pacing and biting his lip.

‘Are you ok?’ Chanyeol asked with so much fear in his voice it made Baekhyun stop sharply. He looked at Chanyeol for a long time, looked into his earnest brown eyes and his face that was designed for smiling and laughing. He should never be sad, it drastically didn’t suit him.

‘It’s over now. Finally.’ He said and realised that that had just made Chanyeol even more nervous. ‘It’s like the whole weight of the world has just been taken off my shoulders.’ Baekhyun burst out a small laugh. He went to Chanyeol and kneeled in front of him. ‘We’re not going to let this hang over us anymore. It’s gone. Forgotten.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes.’ He grinned again. ‘We’ve metaphorically written it in a letter and tossed it into the fire.’

Chanyeol chuckled. ‘I’ve never loved anyone but you and I never will.’ He leant forward to kiss Baekhyun on the forehead. ‘Oh, apart from our children of course.’ He laughed.

‘Shit we have children now. Plural.’ Baekhyun remarked, subconsciously touching his stomach.

‘Yeah.’ Chanyeol breathed out slowly. They caught each other’s gaze again and started snickering uncontrollably at it all.

-

Baekhyun decided there was nothing more perfect than waking up in Chanyeol’s arms. They slotted together so perfectly it seemed like it was by design. He snuggled in closer, nuzzling his face into the warmth and familiar scent. It woke Chanyeol up who immediately sighed in complete content. He held Baekhyun more tightly and started kissing him all over the top of his head to which Baekhyun chuckled at.

‘UMMAAAA!!!’

With a bang, the bedroom door flung itself open. Taehyung sprinted across the room and belly-flopped onto the bed. He clambered his way across the sheets and forcibly buried himself between his parents, breaking their tight hold on each other.

‘Well good morning Taehyung.’ Chanyeol greeted, only the merest hint of resentment in his voice.

‘Morniiinnng!!’ Taehyung cried in a voice unbefitting the time of day.

‘You know it’s the weekend, don’t you my love? Meaning, you really don’t have to get up at seven am.’

‘That’s ok, Umma! I like it!’

‘Oh… good.’ Baekhyun couldn’t maintain his annoyance. Not with the way Taehyung was giggling, his eyes forming crescent moons, his mouth wide like a rectangle. Not, also, with the sight of Chanyeol’s bed hair and sleep-mussed expression as he lovingly watched Taehyung as well. Baekhyun smiled until his cheeks began to ache.

As it stood at that moment in time: their parents knew but their friends did not. They’d resorted to paying a visit in turn to each of their parents. First to Chanyeol’s where Baekhyun received such a warm hug from his mother-in-law that he was close to tears. Second to Baekhyun’s where _his_ mother let out a long, exasperated sigh and promptly remarked ‘finally we can put this whole bloody episode behind us’. His dad quickly moved on to asking Chanyeol to help him with his new lawnmower that he had no idea how to use, as if nothing had been out of the ordinary for the past year.

It was now just over a week since Baekhyun had moved back home officially. However, that night, he would be entertaining his friends at his apartment for one last time. He’d invited them under the guise that it would be a casual evening for drinks and takeaway food. Little did they know what was actually in store for them.

-

‘Oh my god they’re here! Hide!’ Baekhyun couldn’t have leapt up faster from the sofa even if he’d been electrocuted. He skidded across the floor to the intercom and buzzed the guests inside. When he turned around and saw Chanyeol still sat down, he jumped again. ‘Get up, now, go! Go in the bedroom!’

Chanyeol burst out laughing. He obediently got up but then started trudging at a leisurely pace in the vague direction of the bedroom. Baekhyun yelped and started pushing him along which only served to make Chanyeol laugh even more. Eventually, he did scurry off to his hiding place however, with Taehyung in tow. Baekhyun was left to collect himself and subsequently open the door when his friends came knocking.

Sehun and Luhan turned up first, followed by Yixing and Joonmyun. Kyungsoo then arrived, a withered look on his face, explaining that Jongin was still trying to parallel park. The latter turned up a short while later, sweating but triumphant.

‘Now you’re all here, I’ve got a surprise for you.’ Baekhyun announced, garnering their attention.

‘Is it a puppy?!’ Sehun cried.

‘Close, but not quite.’

‘A cat?’ Luhan quirked an eyebrow.

‘Wait…’ Kyungsoo suddenly widened his eyes and narrowed them immediately after. He scrutinised Baekhyun as the other started wandering backwards to the bedroom door. The guests peered across the room. Baekhyun opened the door, allowing Chanyeol bound out with Taehyung, both sporting mad grins.

‘Tadaaa!’ Baekhyun exclaimed… to confused, underwhelmed faces.

‘The surprise is Chanyeol?’ Yixing questioned.

‘Close enough to a puppy I guess.’ Jongin grumbled.

‘Wait, wait, wait!’ Kyungsoo said again, flailing his arms about as if to shush them. ‘Baek?’ He sent the focus back to the pair on the other side of the room.

Baekhyun giggled and grabbed Chanyeol’s t-shirt, pulling him down for a kiss. Chanyeol wrapped his arms around Baekhyun’s waist, lifting him up and spinning him around.

And that’s when the hollering and shrieking began.

‘OH MY GOD!!’

‘You got back together?! When did this happen?!!’

‘For the love of god, FINALLY!!’

It was the buzz of excitement rubbing off on Taehyung’s already hyperactive mind that led to him shouting the biggest news of all before his parents could get a chance to.

‘Umma’s got a baby in there!!’ He cried, pointing to Baekhyun’s stomach and bouncing up and down.

And that’s when the hollering and shrieking renewed tenfold.

-

-

Baekhyun sold the apartment a couple of months later and began the arduous task of moving all of his things back to the house. Larger furniture was either sold or donated. His clothes and possessions however had to be packed up in boxes and suitcases, just like how they had arrived at the apartment in the first place. Taehyung adamantly refused to get rid of any of his toys even though it would be a miracle if he was going to manage to fit them in his nearly full-to-bursting bedroom. Baekhyun only caved when Taehyung said that he’d share them with his sister.

Yes, they were having a girl. They had no idea what raising a girl would be like, they hadn’t even begun to think of a name for her, all they knew was that they loved her so much it didn’t seem fathomable. She was just the bump that they now tended to refer to as “little peach” for a reason they couldn’t remember.

Their couples therapy had come to an end not long after they had found out about her. After working through some of the last niggling issues, Dr Shin felt confident that they could handle the rest on their own. All the lying and the miscommunications could stop now that they had everything out in the open. They made a solemn promise to one another never to hide how they were feeling ever again.

Besides, they became far too busy anyway. The little peach soon grew into a great big watermelon and then, on a windy February morning, on a Friday no less, Park Taeri was born. She was a miniature, female version of Taehyung who was absolutely infatuated with her, even going so far as to try and stop the doctors and nurses at the hospital going near her. When he was first allowed to hold her, he refused to let go and ended up falling asleep with her still in his arms. His love for his sister was just as great as the love Baekhyun and Chanyeol had for the both of their children. Nothing could pull them apart anymore. They had everything they’d ever wanted in the whole world, right there in front of them.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's a bittersweet feeling to finally be uploading this but I'm so glad I managed to complete it. Thank you so much for reading!


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